Rising Up
by nonchalant confession
Summary: Sequel to A Moment Can Change Everything. Katniss Everdeen has been crowned victor after her best friend, Gale Hawthorne, saved her life in the Arena. What will life be like for her back in District 12 now that the only person she could trust is gone? follows Catching Fire story-line with twists, of course!
1. The Aftermath

**Hello everyone! Here is Chapter 1 of Rising Up, the sequel to A Moment Can Change Everything. This chapter doesn't have much dialogue but it's necessary so you know what is going on in Katniss' life. I know it's kind of depressing but don't worry, the story will get happier. Also, you will find out how Gale died, just not yet (expect that after Katniss comes home from the Victory Tour). Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.

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Chapter 1

'_My best friend is dead and it's all my fault. I let him die._' This is the thought that crossed Katniss Everdeen's mind every morning when she woke up and every night before she closed her eyes. She would run through scenarios in her head about what she could have done to change the past. Sometimes, she would fabricate full conversations between her and Gale to convince him that he should be victor. Other times she thought of the nightlock and how she should have grabbed the berries and shoved them in her mouth, even though he had found her. None of this really helped though. What's done is done. No hypothetical would bring him back from the grave.

It had been a month since she arrived at the train station after the Games. The station in District 12 was packed with people as far as the eye could see to catch a glimpse of her, the first victor from their district in 24 years. It was all too much to take. Katniss couldn't understand how everyone was so happy despite the fact that only one tribute made it home. She quickly made my way to the car that would escort Effie, Haymitch, and her to the Victor's Village. Her mother and sister, Prim, had already settled into their new home by the time she was back. Effie gave her a tour of the house while pointing out all the new technological upgrades they had installed. None of this mattered to Katniss. Her home would always be the small cabin in the Seam. She even tried to convince her family to move back to the house but they had already grown accustomed to the luxuries that the new house provided.

Katniss refused to become like them. This was a house built by the Capitol and she wanted no part in it. She confined herself to her room since the first night that she had spent in the house. There had only been one time she had left that room: to attend Gale's burial. She thought back to that day. It was two days after she returned. A part of her didn't want to go, but she knew she'd regret it one day if she didn't. To say that she wasn't on her best behavior in the cemetery was an understatement. She assaulted two men who were commenting on the beautiful craftsmanship of the coffin the Capitol sent his body in (_Why would they talk about something like that?_), and she went up to some people and questioned what they were doing there (_They didn't even know him_). When they lowered the coffin into the ground, she tried to jump in the hole with it, not wanting him to be placed in the cold, dark ground. Haymitch managed to grab her as soon as her feet left the ground and pulled her back. When she looked around, people had the most terrified looks on their faces. She could only imagine what they were thinking.

Since then, she tried to keep human interaction to a minimum. She didn't want to feel better and she knew that she didn't deserve to be happy. The worst part was the heartache. She had always heard about how it felt to be brokenhearted, but she wasn't quite sure she believed it was real. Now, she knew it so well, she could write a book about it. She wondered if this was how her mother felt after her father's death. Maybe she had been too hard on her as she laid in bed disconnected from the world, just as she was now. Then a thought crossed Katniss' mind. She had children—children that need taking care of. She only had herself to take care.

Not that she had actually been taking care of herself. She had shut herself away in her room and had only bathed once since returning from the Capitol. Her mother and sister left her alone for the most part, except when they brought her meals. In the beginning, they would just drop off the tray of food and leave her by herself. Yesterday, that had changed. Since they saw that she was not even touching the food, one of them now has to sit in a chair beside her bed until she finishes it all. At breakfast, Prim sat in a chair for 2 hours waiting for her to finish her meal. She didn't finish it because she was hungry or because she cared about how Prim felt. She did it to be left alone.

The opening of the bedroom door interrupted Katniss' thoughts. It was her mother.

"You might want to get washed up. Madge is coming over to visit." Katniss thought about turning down the visit, but she couldn't do that to Madge. There was camaraderie between them that, even in her weakened state, she didn't want to let go of. Katniss slowly climbed out of her too large bed and made her way to the bathroom connected to her room. She undressed and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked horrible. Her hair was greasy and clumped together in a series of knots. The lack of sunlight had paled her once olive skin. She was so thin she could count her ribs. When she could no longer bear to look at the girl staring at her through the mirror, she got in the shower. It was the same one she used in the Capitol, so she knew what settings to push. Today, she pressed 'super scrub' because she probably needed it. It was painful when the brushes scrubbed away the sweat and dead skin, but at the moment she didn't mind. When she stepped out the shower, jets of warm air dried her body and her hair.

She walked into her room and picked out a nightgown to wear. That's all she ever wore now. She noticed that her mother must have changed her bedding while she was getting clean. Her mother had also opened the curtains to let some light in. Katniss went to her side table drawer and took out the Mockingjay pin. Then she climbed back into bed and rested against the pillows that were propped up against the headboard. She clutched the pin between her palms as she waited for Madge to arrive. She was a little nervous. She hadn't had a conversation with someone in so long. What should she even say?

A few minutes later, she heard the doorknob turn and her mother was escorting Madge to the chair next to Katniss' bed. Madge waited until the door was closed before she spoke.

"Hi, Katniss." she said quietly. Madge was probably just as nervous to talk to Katniss as Katniss was to talk to her. She had seen her outbursts at the burial. She probably though Katniss was mental by now.

"Hi." Katniss replied.

"School is starting soon. Are you coming back?" Madge said. Katniss hadn't thought about it. She supposed that since she had won the Games, it wasn't necessary to have to complete school. Katniss shook her head. She couldn't go back there. She couldn't walk down those halls, watching as people stared and whispered about her.

"Oh." Madge replied, a little sadder than before. She felt horrible for doing this. Katniss knew that she was the only person that Madge had at school. They relied on each other so much when it came to group assignments or something as simple as having someone to sit with at lunch.

"I'm sorry…I can't." was all that Katniss could manage to get out. She remembered the pin. "Here is your pin back. Thanks for letting me borrow it." Katniss said as she stretched her open palm towards Madge.

"No Katniss, I gave it to you. You should keep it." Madge said.

"Thank you." Katniss said to be polite. What followed next was silence. Neither girl knew what to say next. When there was no indication of any further conversation, Madge stood up.

"It was really nice seeing you Katniss. I really hope things get better for you." she said. She didn't even wait for Katniss to say bye before she rushed to the door to leave.

'_Great, even Madge is scared of me now_.' Katniss thought. She briefly got out of bed to close the curtains and curled up under the covers, wishing for her former life.


	2. Peeta

**Another short chapter from Peeta's POV (Don't worry, the chapters will be longer soon!)**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.

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Chapter 2

Peeta Mellark crouched low to the ground, grabbing some loaves of bread from the bottom rack of the bread trays. He was making another visit to the Everdeens today. Ever since Katniss had been taken away to the Games, he had been visiting Prim and her mother to give them bread. By the last few weeks, he was at their house almost every day. He knew they needed the company with everything that had been happening to Katniss in the arena. Not that Prim really knew what was happening. Her mother wouldn't allow her to watch a second of the Games. Prim seemed to enjoy his company and it helped her take her mind off her sister.

"Stealing bread again!" Carac, his brother, said as he jumped out from behind the rack. Peeta was startled and lost his balance. Luckily, none of the bread dropped.

"I'm going to the Everdeen house today." Peeta stated. Carac had caught him once before so he knew about their little arrangement.

"Why? They are so rich now, they can afford to buy their own bread." he said. Then Peeta watched as a devilish grin appear on his face. "Oh, I get it. You're going to see her."

"Stop it." Peeta said pushing his brother.

"But I am right, aren't I?"

"Yes." Peeta admitted. There was no sense in hiding it. Carac knew that he liked Katniss.

"Looks like you have a chance now that Gale Hawthorne is out of the picture."

"You shouldn't say things like that." Peeta said annoyed.

"But it's true. You saw how they were towards the end. If he came back with her, you wouldn't stand a chance." Peeta knew he was right. He painfully watched as Gale and Katniss' relationship progressed throughout the Games.

"What makes you think I stand a chance now?" Peeta asked his brother. With everything that Katniss was going through, the last thing she needed was a boyfriend.

"Aww, poor Peeta." Carac said with fake sympathy. "Maybe if you took off those blinders you would see that there are plenty of other girls that like you."

"But I don't want other girls." Peeta retorted.

"Listen, you're charming, sensitive, and good-looking—not as good-looking as me but no one is." he brother said adding in a little joke. "As far as what girls want, you're a winning combination."

"But what if that's not enough for her?"

"Than she's not worth your time." he said as he started walking towards the door. "Oh by the way I'd be careful if I were you. You know mom counts the loaves."

"I know. That's why I've been making them a little smaller…so I can take the extras without her noticing."

"I've taught you well." Carac said with a wink. He wished him good luck and then left the room. Peeta grabbed the bag of bread and left through the back of the store to set off for the Everdeen house. The walk wasn't as far as it had been now that they lived in Victor's Village. On days like this, he was thankful for that. Even though it was before noon, the hot August sun blazed down on him. Even the shade didn't provide much relief.

When he reached her house, he was greeted by Prim.

"Peeta!" Prim exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Hey Prim." he said giving her a pat on the back. He followed Prim to the kitchen, where her mother was.

"Good morning, Mrs. Everdeen." he greeted her. He joined her at the kitchen table, where she was peeling potatoes.

"Nice to see you Peeta." she said.

"You too. So how is she doing today?" he asked. Peeta usually waited further into the conversation to ask how Katniss was doing but he couldn't wait today.

"Well she got out of bed today so she's improving." her mother said with hope. Peeta had to keep from rolling his eyes. Getting out of bed was hardly a cause for celebration.

"Maybe I could go see her?" he suggested. The smile from her face disappeared.

"Today is not a good day. Poor Madge Undersee ran out of the house earlier crying. I don't think she is in the mood for visitors today."

"Oh." he said dejected. Their conversation was interrupted by Prim running into the kitchen.

"Peeta, look at my new dress for school!" she said as she twirled around.

"Very pretty." he said with a smile. His comment must have satisfied her because she quickly kissed his cheek before skipping out of the room.

"She's going to be a handful." Peeta said once Prim was out of earshot.

"I know."

"How is Prim handling all of this?" he asked her.

"Not very well." Mrs. Everdeen admitted.

"She looks fine to me."

"She hides it well. I still hear her crying from her room every night as I pass it. Her and Katniss have barely said two words to each other. I worried about them."

"Perhaps if I talked to them, I could help." Peeta suggested. Mrs. Everdeen nodded her head.

"Maybe you could come by tomorrow. It is Prim's first day of school and I have to stop by the Hawthorne's house. I don't feel like leaving her alone in the house just yet." she said.

"I'd like that." he said with a smile. He said his goodbyes to the Everdeens and was on his way. Tomorrow he would get to see her. He realized that he had to play his cards right. It was crucial that he didn't say or do anything to mess up his chance for her to trust him. He went home to work out a plan.


	3. A Visitor

**Three chapters in three days...how do you like that? Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. Love hearing from you! **

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.

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Chapter 3

Katniss had established a routine that practically remained the same every morning. She woke up around 5 in the morning, usually from a nightmare involving the Games or Gale's death. Then she drifted in and out of consciousness until Prim or her mother brought her breakfast. However, one morning that changed. She had already woken up twice that morning to a dark, empty room. On the third time, the light on the nightstand behind her was on. She slowly turned around to her right side to see if anything else was different. Sitting next to her on the bed was Peeta Mellark. He was in deep concentration, reading a thick, leather-bound book. She watched him intently as his eyes drifted across the pages and his expression changed as he read the words. She wondered how he managed to get into her room.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Just came to check on you." he said as he marked his page with the ribbon attached to the book.

"I'm not allowed to have boys in my room." Katniss replied. She wasn't sure why that came out of her mouth.

"I'm not going to try anything Katniss." he said flashing a smile. Katniss was not amused.

"Does she know you're up here?"

"She's not here."

"I don't need a babysitter." Katniss said turning away from him.

"She's just worried about you." he said on a more serious note.

"I'm doing just fine." she said stubbornly. He didn't say anything else to her. She could hear him open the book again and turn the pages. She closed her eyes, hoping that he wouldn't bother her anymore.

* * *

It had been 5 days since Peeta Mellark had visited her. She thought about what Gale had told her, that he might be able to help her. How much could he really help? Could he make her forget about what happened in the arena or do anything to prevent the horrific nightmares that plagued her every night?

Last night was another bad night. She dreamt she was the leader of the Career pack and led them on a hunt to find Gale. The first time they found him, she beat him with the club so bad that he had trouble just standing up. They didn't want to kill him just yet. The Careers and her wanted to make the chase a little more fun. They watched him as he limped off and gave him half a day's start. By the next morning, they found and cornered him by a large wall of rock. Gale pleaded with Katniss to spare her life and told her that she was not like the other Careers. She grabbed a knife out of Clove's hand, kicked him to the ground, and stabbed him repeatedly until he had finished bleeding out.

After the cannon shot, Katniss jolted up from her bed. She was covered in so much sweat that her nightgown was soaked. She ran to her shower, stripped off her clothes and set the shower to the coldest water setting available. Her legs were so unstable that she fell to her knees and then crumpled to the floor of the shower. She screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring if she disturbed anyone's slumber. When the shower clicked off, she slowly made her way back to bed, not bothering to dry off or put on any clothes. She covered herself with the duvet but did not close her eyes. Maybe she if she could keep her eyes open, she wouldn't sleep and therefore, not have any more nightmares. As the night wore on, her eyelids started to droop. Before dawn, she could not longer remain alert. Exhaustion had taken its toll and she nodded off.

* * *

Katniss heard the doorknob starting to turn indicating that someone would be entering the room. She laid as still as possible. Maybe if they thought she was sleeping, she would be left alone. The door swung open and she heard footsteps. The steps were too heavy to be Prim or her mother's. Peeta Mellark came into view as he approached the windows. He slowly opened both sets of curtains, letting the morning sunlight in. Before he turned around, Katniss clutched her comforter to her chest as she remembered she was naked. He walked around her bed and sat in same spot that he did on his first visit.

"Katniss, your back." he said before he glided his fingertips down the center of her back. This sent an electric surge down her spine.

"The Capitol did that." she said depressed.

"How?" he asked her. He must have seen how bad the scars had been as he watched the end of the Games.

"It's called a full body polish. They figured out how to erase any physical signs that you have been in the Games. They think that once the scars are gone, they have fixed you. The emotional scars are still there though…those are the worst." she explained. She thought about all the damage that had been done…all the things she would never be able to forget. She thought about her future and how it would always be intertwined with The Hunger Games. Her emotions overcame her and she felt the tears returning. She was sick of crying but it was the only way to get everything out.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" he murmured gently as he laid down next to her.

"I just want to forget it all." she said.

"You just need to get through the Victory Tour and then you'll be done with all of this." he told her.

"No I won't, Peeta. Every district needs two mentors. I'll have to be a mentor for the rest of my life. I'll have to go back to that stupid city every year and watch two more kids from our district be murdered." she said. She felt a tightness in her chest and had trouble taking in air. She was hyperventilating once again.

She was shocked when felt Peeta's chest press against her back and his arm wrapped around her waist. She flinched in shock but didn't prevent it. It actually felt comforting to have him this close to her. She realized this was the first time she had let someone touch her since she arrived home from the Capitol. She closed her eyes and felt her body relax. There was a silence between them but it wasn't uncomfortable like it was with other people who tried to talk to her. Just as she was starting to drift off, Peeta spoke.

"Katniss, have you been eating?" he asked her. Even the covers weren't enough to hide the severity of her condition.

"Sometimes." she said quietly.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself." he whispered.

"I know." she said. She knew her behavior was self-destructive but she couldn't find the motivation to fix it.

"If I cook you something for breakfast, would you eat it?" he asked her.

"You can cook?" she asked as she turned to face him.

"Yes, I can cook." he said with a laugh. She felt herself blushing as she realized what a stupid question that was. Just because he worked in a bakery didn't mean that bread was the only type of food he could make. He was almost 17.

"Yes, I will." she said.

"Get dressed and meet me downstairs." he said. Her blush deepened when she realized that he knew she wasn't wearing anything below the covers. She almost objected to leaving her room, but she was curious to see him in action. Once the door clicked shut, she raced to her dresser and quickly picked out an outfit to wear. She didn't want to miss anything. She jogged down the stairs but slowed her pace before she reached the kitchen. She didn't want to seem too eager.

"That was quick." Peeta said as he carried the ingredients to the center island.

"Well it's not everyday you get to see a baker try to cook." she said as she sat on a stood across from him. '_Did I just make a joke_?'

"Try?" he said giving her an incredulous look. "Prepared to be impressed, Katniss Everdeen."

"We'll see." she said. She watched as he carefully chopped an onion on the cutting board with precision. She concluded that he must know what he was doing. "What are you making for me anyway?"

"An omelet." he replied.

"Hmm, never had one before." she said.

"They don't make omelets in the Capitol?" he asked mockingly. A frown appeared on Katniss' face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." he said apologetically.

"No, it's fine." she said brushing it off. She knew she shouldn't get upset anytime someone mentioned the Capitol. When Peeta was finished chopping the vegetables, he carried the cutting board to the stovetop. He turned on the largest burner, and blue flames ignited under the pan. After the oil was warmed up, he slid the chopped vegetables into the pan. Katniss watched as he flipped the contents by flicking the pan to towards him. She wondered how he did that. She was sure if she tried that, the vegetables would go flying everywhere. She was even more impressed when she watched him make the egg part of the omelet. He poured the eggs he scrambled in another pan and let it spread to the edges. Once it had set for a minute, he took a spatula and managed to flip over the whole circle without it breaking or folding over. If he was this good at cooking, she wondered what he was like in the bakery. He quickly assembled the omelets onto two plates and brought them to the table. Katniss went to grab some silverware only she remembered that she didn't know where anything was located. She randomly started opening drawers in search of some forks.

"Over here, Katniss." Peeta said with a laugh as he opened the top drawer next to the fridge. She could feel herself blush, embarrassed that he knew her kitchen better than her.

"You seem to know you're way around here." she noticed.

"Well I've been over here a lot." he said. She could tell from his expression afterwards that he wish he hadn't said that. They sat across from each other at the long, wooden table. Katniss cut the omelet with the side of her fork, scooped it up and ate it.

"Mmm, good." she said nodding her head.

"You're not just saying that, are you?" he asked.

"No Peeta. I really mean it." The answer seemed to satisfy him because he smiled. They remained silent for the rest of the meal. Katniss managed to finish the whole breakfast, not because she was being forced but because she actually felt like it. Afterwards, they returned to her room. She noticed Peeta checked his watch, and he scrunched his mouth to the side.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"I have to get back to the bakery."

"It's ok. I'll be fine." she said, hoping it would reassure him.

"Ok." he said getting up from her bed.

"Peeta, wait!" she said abruptly.

"What is it?" he said sitting down next to her.

"Maybe you could come tomorrow?" she said.

"Tomorrow is the first day of school. Did you forget?" he asked.

"I'm not going back." she said looking down.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because it doesn't matter now." she said. She could tell he was unhappy with her decision.

"I'll try to stop by sometime this week." he said.

"That would be nice." she said. He stood up once more and walked to the door.

"Peeta…thank you." she said as he opened the door. He turned back and smiled before he left her room.

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**I know it's kind of starting off slow but don't worry, things will get interesting... :)**


	4. School

**Happy Hunger Games Friday! Hope you enjoy this one! :)**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games!

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Chapter 4

When Peeta arrived at school, there was a buzz around hallways about Katniss Everdeen and if anyone had seen her yet. He now understood why she didn't want to return to school. It would have been overwhelming to say the least.

As he passed the gymnasium, he saw a makeshift memorial for Gale Hawthorne with notes attached to the wall surrounding his photo. He watched as students sat on the floor, writing down messages and then taped them to the wall. It's something the students of District 12 did every year to cope with the loss of two students from the school. Even though only one had perished, the wall was already almost filled. Gale Hawthorne was one of the most popular people in school so Peeta wasn't surprised.

Peeta went to the table and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He leaned against the trophy case, thinking of something to write. He didn't know Gale; the only encounter he had ever had with Gale was when he punched him in the face at the Reaping a few months before. He felt horrible about that now. 'sorry i punched you in the face.' didn't seem like an appropriate thing to write on a memorial. He thought about the fact that Gale had saved his life by volunteering for him at the Reaping, even if that wasn't his intention. He could write about that but he decided on something else. He wrote in neat print 'i will protect her.' He knew that's all Gale Hawthorne wanted, for Katniss to be safe. That is how he could honor Gale for everything he did. He grabbed a piece of tape and found a place on the wall to attach it.

He walked the through the halls on the way to his new homeroom for the year. He could see some girls crying with friends beside their lockers, probably mourning their former crush. Lot of girls liked him, even the merchant girls. He took a seat next to Delly Cartwright near the middle of the classroom. Even she looked a little wary today.

"Oh, hi Peeta." she said finally noticing him. "Have you seen Katniss yet?" He knew she wasn't prying or gossiping like other people in the school were. That wasn't Delly. She was the kindest person you would ever meet and his best friend. She was also the only person he had ever told about his crush on Katniss Everdeen.

"She's not coming back." he said.

"Is she going to be ok?" she asked him.

"I don't know. Maybe." he said. It was too soon for him to know for sure.

"Well if there's anyone that can help, it's you, Peeta." Delly said with optimism. The bell rang indicating that is was time to start the school day. He knew that not much was going to happen that first day. The first day was always like that. He didn't even know what he was doing there. He should have just skipped the day and visited Katniss. He thought about leaving school early but he already ran into his last period teacher. She would know if he didn't show to class. He'd have to wait another day to visit her.

* * *

The first week of school flew by for Peeta Mellark. He had barely had a moment to himself during the week. The teachers seemed to be slamming them with homework, probably because they couldn't finish their lessons. The students were too involved with the fact that one of their tributes won The Hunger Games and the other one died to save her. His schedule consisted of him waking up, breakfast, prep work in the bakery, get ready, school, more bakery work, dinner, homework, and then bed.

He didn't have time to visit Katniss until Saturday. He felt bad that he couldn't visit her sooner. When he walked into her room, the curtains were drawn and he could see Katniss lying in bed. He walked over to the curtains, placing one hand on each side.

"Don't." he heard her say. He left the curtains and knelt next to her bed. He was still four feet away from her because her bed was so big.

"Katniss, I'm sorry. I—" he started. She cut him off.

"Go home, Peeta." she said. He could see the hurt in her eyes. He did that to her. He should have visited her…somehow. Now her trust in him was gone. He wondered if he could ever get it back. If he stayed there, he knew he would only make it worse. He would try again tomorrow.

The next day, was another busy day in the bakery for Peeta. He didn't manage to finish his duties until noon. As soon as he was finished, he quickly changed and anxiously made his way to Katniss' house, trying to think of what he would say to her. Prim let him in and he went straight up the stairs. They room was still dark and Katniss looked as if hadn't moved from the spot she in the day before. He was angry that she had regressed so much from a week ago.

He walked over to the windows and opened all the curtains. He walked around the bed and sat down where he usually did. Katniss got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. He let out a big sigh as he leaned his head against the headboard. He grabbed the book he had been reading off the nightstand and resumed the story. He was not leaving until she talked to him.

After an hour, he could hear the bathroom door open. He could see her peering out through a crack to see if he was still there.

"I'm not leaving until I explain myself." he said. He watched as she emerged from the bathroom and joined him on the bed.

"Where the hell have you been all week?" she asked him, still upset.

"Katniss, I'm sorry, I just couldn't make it over here."

"You said you would visit me."

"And I would have if I had the time. You don't know what my week was like. Between the bakery, school, and the massive amounts of homework they are assigning us, I haven't had a moment to relax. I thought about skipping school a few times but I just couldn't."

"You shouldn't skip school." she said quietly. "You looked tired, Peeta." She must have noticed the dark circles forming around his eyes.

"I am." he admitted.

"You need to rest. Lay down." she told him. He leaned back and rested his head on the pillow. "You can get under the covers."

"Oh, ok. Thanks." he said as he pulled the covers over his body. After she closed the curtains, she lied down, facing him with about two feet between them. He looked at her for a few seconds before closing eyes. Within seconds, he was asleep.

* * *

(Katniss POV)

When Katniss woke up, the sun was already starting to set. She noticed the distance between her and Peeta had shrunk to a few inches between them. They were closer to the edge of the bed so it must have been her that moved. She didn't remember scooting closer to him at any point during her nap. She had been asleep the whole time. She watched her as he laid there, still asleep. A crack in the in the curtains let in just enough light that she could still see him.

She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she knew that would stir him from his sleep. She felt a pull from him like a magnet towards it's opposite. It was the same way she felt towards Gale…in the beginning. Then she felt guilt wash over her. It had only been two months since the Games had ended. Was that an appropriate amount of time mourn his death? Would he think that she was moving on too quickly? He did seem to give his blessing when it came to Peeta Mellark. Was that why he told her all that stuff about Peeta when they were in the Capitol and the Arena…to let her know that it was ok to move on? That she could be with someone else?

Her attention went back to Peeta as she saw him shift from his side to his back. He didn't wake yet. She studied his features as she continued to take him in. She noticed how much younger he looked than Gale, but then remembered that he was two years younger. High school was a big transition period for guys. They looked so young during their first year of high school but by the time they graduate, they look like men. She wondered what Peeta would look like in two years.

Katniss heard a knock on the door. She decided to go to the door so she wouldn't disturb Peeta. When she opened it, she found her mother standing there.

"Dinner is in 10 minutes. It would be nice if you came down to join us." she said.

"Yeah, ok, mom." she said quickly. Katniss went to shut the door but her mother pressed the door open all the way, and she saw Peeta.

"Katniss, what have I said about boys in your room?" she asked in an even tone.

"It's just Peeta." Katniss said as innocently as she could.

"Yes I know." she said before walking away. Her mother must have disliked the fact that he was under the covers with her. It wasn't like anything was happening between them. They were just two friends who decided to take a nap.

Before Katniss woke up Peeta, she went into the bathroom to braid her hair and brush her teeth. She then rejoined him in bed.

"Peeta." she said gently rubbing his shoulder.

"Mmm, you smell minty." he said as he slowly stretched out his arms. This caused her to smile.

"I think you have to go now." she whispered into his ear.

"Why?"

"My mother saw you in my bed." she explained.

"She probably didn't like that."

"No, she didn't. Come on, I'll walk you to the door." she said as she got out of bed. After he put his shoes on, they descended down the stairs. They walked to the kitchen and found Mrs. Everdeen adding another place setting to the table.

"I guess you are staying." Katniss said looking at him. Prim ran up to the Peeta and gave him a hug.

"Peeta, you're staying for dinner?" she asked excited.

"I guess so." he said.

"You have to sit next to me!" she said taking his hand and leading him to the table.

"Prim, he's Katniss' _friend_." her mother said. Katniss couldn't help but noticed the way her mother said the word 'friend'. What was she implying?

"It's fine." Katniss said. She did kind of mind but she wasn't about to make a big deal about it. During dinner, Prim spent most of the time chatting Peeta's ear off. Katniss didn't get a word in edgewise, but she didn't care. She wasn't really in the mood to talk. Things between her and her sister still had not been patched up. She could still feel a wall built between her and Prim. They definitely were nowhere near as close as they were before the Games. She missed that but she still hadn't figured out what to say to her.

Once dinner was over, Katniss went back upstairs while Peeta helped her mother with the dishes. Of course he would do that. While she waited for him, she opened her curtains to look out the window. She hadn't gotten a good look of the view yet. In the distance she could see the light of the moon hit the Justice Building and the other buildings that surrounded it in the square. She wished her room faced another way so she wouldn't have to look at the place where her life changed forever. When she heard her door open, she turned around as Peeta walked towards her.

"I just came to say goodbye." he said.

"You can't stay the night?"

"I have to get up really early tomorrow…it's Monday." he said. She could tell he didn't want to leave her.

"Wait!" she said as she ran her drawer. She pulled out an alarm clock she stuck in there because she had no use for it. She was on no schedule. Just the sight of it was enough to convince him.

"Ok, I'll stay." he said as he plugged it into the wall. After he set the time, he set two alarms, one for 5 a.m. and the second for 5:10 a.m.

"I thought you weren't allowed to have boys in your room." Peeta said with a smile as he made his way the center of the bed after he had turned off the lights.

"I'm not going to try anything, Peeta." she said using the same words he had said to her after she told him that.

"I don't think it's you she's worried about." he said.

"Oh whatever Peeta, like you would do anything to me."

"You don't know that."

"You're a nice guy."

Is there something wrong with that?" he asked her.

"No, but that's probably the only reason why she isn't up here escorting you outside."

"Why? Has that happened before?" he asked her.

"Well, kind of, once." she said thinking about the time with Gale.

"When?"

"When I was 13."

"That's a little young to be bringing boys to your room, don't you think?"

"It was just Gale…and we weren't doing anything." Even though they could barely see each other through the darkness in the room, she could tell he was a little relieved.

"Did you ever do anything with him…before the Games started?"

"No Peeta, he was just my friend!" she said lightly slapping his chest.

"Not even to see what it was like?"

"No. Why? Have you?" she asked with a new curiosity. She never thought about that side of Peeta before.

"I kissed Delly Cartwright once."

"But she's your friend!"

"We were young and we wanted to know what it felt like." he said matter-of-factly.

"And what did you think?"

"It felt like I was kissing my sister." he said as he cringed.

"That's why you don't kiss your friends." she said. She thought about that statement she just made. Isn't that what she had done? That first time she kissed Gale he was only her friend. That was it different though. He was dying. She wondered if the outcome would have been different if the circumstances were changed. If Gale and her had been hunting in the woods, and he kissed her, would she have enjoyed it? Or would it been like how it was with Peeta and Delly? Would they even be able to look at each other in the same way after it had happened? She told herself that it wouldn't have mattered where they were, that kiss would have ignited a spark between her and Gale, uncovering their true feelings for each other.

Katniss didn't hear anything else out of Peeta so she figured he was asleep. He must have been really tired if he could sleep after the long nap they took just hours before. Katniss felt wide-awake. She stared upwards thinking about what she could do to pass the time. She ended up getting out of bed and going downstairs to drink some tea. Everyone was already in bed. She filled the kettle with water and turned on the stove. Then she searched for a mug. She opened every high cabinet until she found the shelves that housed the mugs. Next, she had to search for the tea, which was located in a pantry that slid out from the wall. She chose a combination of peppermint and chamomile, hoping that would calm her enough to put her sleep. She quickly grabbed the kettle off the stove as it began to whistle, hoping that it wouldn't wake anyone up.

Once her tea was done steeping, she removed the teabag and walked outside to the front porch and sat down in a rocking chair. Apart from the crickets chirping, the night was still. Everyone was in their houses either already sleeping or preparing for bed. She looked over at Haymitch's house. Every window was lit up which struck her as odd. He was the only that lived there. Then she remembered how he once told her that he doesn't like to sleep in the dark. Still, that doesn't mean he had to keep every light in the house on.

As she rocked back and fourth, she closed her eyes. She started to hum the lullaby that her father used to sing to her before bed every night. For that one moment she felt at peace. The combination of the tea, rocking, and humming in the moonlight was enough to calm her. She could feel herself drifting off to sleep. It didn't last long though. Just as she reached that edge of consciousness, she was awoken by the sound of her mug shattering on the porch floor. She must have let go of it. She stood up and carefully walked around the shards of porcelain. She would clean it up tomorrow. She tiptoed upstairs and return to her room where Peeta lay motionless. She laid close to him, not caring what he would think of it when he woke tomorrow. Tonight, she didn't want to feel alone.

* * *

**So what did you think? **


	5. Prim

**Hi! Hope everyone is having a great weekend (The Hunger Games is out on DVD, how could you not?) I know some people are wondering if I am Team Gale or Team Peeta. To be honest, I like them both. The Hunger Games trilogy wouldn't be the same if one of them was totally absent from the books. :)**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.

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Chapter 5

Katniss woke up to the chirping of the first alarm Peeta set. She turned off both alarms.

"Peeta, time to wake up." she said gently waking him.

"Not yet." he said as he turned onto his stomach and dug his face into the pillow.

"Yes, you slept through the alarm."

"I can't get out of bed." he said.

"Why don't you take a shower and I'll go downstairs and make you some coffee."

"Coffee?" he said as he turned his head to face her.

"Looks like I found your weakness." she said with a smile.

"Yeah well we don't really get to have it that often." he said.

"Come on I'll show you how to use the shower." she said taking his hand. She explained to him how to use the fancy Capitol shower, showing him the different settings and what each group of buttons did.

"Where are the towels?" he asked.

"Don't need them. Just stand over the vents at the entrance and you'll be dry in a few seconds." she said. She closed the door behind her and went downstairs. Just as the coffee was done brewing, Peeta joined her in the kitchen.

"So what did you think?" she asked him.

"That's pretty cool." he admitted. "Totally unnecessary, but cool." She walked over to him and handed him a thermos of coffee. "Thanks. Well, I better get to the bakery." he said. She walked him out to the porch. He started to walk but then turned to face her. "Hey Katniss?"

"Yes?" she asked.

"Maybe I'll stop by after school." he told her.

"Maybe?" she asked giving him an uncertain look.

"Well it all depends on how much schoolwork I have." he said.

"You could do it here." she suggested.

"You won't find it boring?" he asked.

"No, it would be nice to have you around." she said.

"Ok, I'll see you later then." he said with a grin.

"Promise?"

"I promise." he said. She didn't know why but after he said those words, she hugged his waist. She felt his arms wrap around her shoulders and that feeling of comfort returned inside her. She wasn't ready to let go just yet.

"Katniss, I really have to leave now." he told her. She released her arms and took a step back. They said their goodbyes and he made his way down the walkway on her front yard. She watched him until she could no longer see him, and then her concentration was broken by the sound of someone clearing his throat. She turned to the direction it came from. She saw Haymitch Abernathy wink at her as he lifted his bottle of white liquor in the air. She decided it would probably be wise to go talk to him since she hadn't seen him since she had moved in. She swiftly made her way from her yard to his front porch. When she got closer to him, she could see that he was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts with a robe that he didn't bother to close. She leaned against a pillar by the edge of the porch.

"How's it going, sweetheart?" he slurred.

"Ok, I guess." she said.

"Well it looks like you're doing well for yourself." he commented.

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"It means it doesn't look like you're willing to jump into any more graves." he said with a chuckle.

"Don't remind me."

"That boy…he likes you, you know?"

"You think every boy likes me." she said rolling her eyes at him.

"I was right about the first one." he mentioned.

"Yeah, so?"

"I'd be careful if I were you. I wouldn't go heading into a new relationship just yet."

"He's just a friend, Haymitch." she said, unable to believe that she was having this conversation with him. "And why would that matter anyway?"

"We wouldn't want the Capitol to get the wrong idea about you."

"You don't have to worry about Peeta Mellark."

"Wait, _that's_ Peeta Mellark? Wasn't he the guy that was suppose to go into the Games with you."

"Yeah." she simply said.

"Wow you really know how to pick them." Haymitch said as he started cracking up.

"Bye Haymitch." Katniss said with anger as she walked away from him. She now remembered why she hadn't reached out to him since she got back. She wouldn't be visiting him any time soon. As she stormed back to her room, she couldn't help but think of what Haymitch said. How on earth could he have been able to tell that Peeta liked her? He got that from one hug? And his other comment about her 'knowing how to pick them'; what did that mean? It didn't make sense to her. What did Gale and Peeta have in common…nothing. Katniss was too heated to go back to sleep and she couldn't stay in her room. She quickly changed and then decided to take a walk to her old house.

Katniss cut thought Victor's Village and walked until she found the fence that marked the perimeter of District 12. If she followed the fence, she could get to the Seam without being detected. The last thing she wanted was to run into anyone. The longer she walked, the calmer she became. She listened to the sounds of the birds chirping and the breeze swirling through the trees. She realized how much she missed being outdoors. It's where she spent most of her time before the Games. When she was close to her home, she saw the stretch of fence she used to crawl under to go hunting. She stood in front of it for a good 5 minutes. Part of her wanted to crawl underneath it and escape to the woods, but her body wouldn't budge any closer. It was as if there was an imaginary force field that wouldn't allow her to advance any closer to the fence. She turned to her right and continued to walk until she reached her back yard. She pulled up a loose board on the small porch behind her house to recover the extra key.

She unlocked the door and went inside. It looked practically the same as before she left. She walked through each room of the house, saving her own room for last. She collected a few things in a bag that she wanted to bring back with her including her hunting clothes and the book of plants her father made, as well as some other mementos. She returned to the living room and laid down on the couch. She breathed in the scent of the fabric. It smelt like home. She closed her eyes and though about all the happy memories that happened under that roof. It was the only home she had ever known. She decided to take a nap since she had woken up so early that day. When she woke up, it was approaching noon. She decided to make her way back to her new house. She followed the same route she used to get to the Seam.

When she got home, her house was still empty. She made herself lunch for the first time in months. As she sat and ate her sandwich at the table, she realized how normal her life seemed at the moment. She wondered if this was how life would eventually be for her. Afterwards, she went up to her room and waited for Peeta to arrive. As she sat on her bed her eyes went to the book on the nightstand that he had been reading. She picked up the book and opened it to the first page of chapter one and began to read.

An hour later, Katniss was still reading when Peeta walked into her bedroom.

"Hey." he said leaning for a brief hug.

'_Ok, I guess we're hugging now_.' Katniss thought.

"You're reading the book."

"Yeah I thought I'd give it a shot."

"What do you think so far?" he asked with curiosity.

"I think it was meant for children." she said shutting the book, not bothering to mark the page.

"It's a novel."

"Yeah about pirates and fairies and kids that can fly."

"This book, Katniss Everdeen, is a classic." he said holding it in front of her.

"Oh really, says who?" she challenged him.

"Says the introduction in the front." he answered.

"You read the book foreword?" she said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"Peeta, no one reads those."

"Of course people read them. The publishers wouldn't put them in there if people didn't read them."

"Yeah ok, whatever Peeta." she with sarcasm.

"As much as I'd like to debate this, I have work to do." he said pulling out his supplies. He propped some pillows against the headboards and got to work.

"What class is this for?" she asked him as she leaned in towards him.

"Calculus."

"I thought you had to be a senior to take that."

"Well I'm smart. I read book forewords, remember?" he said before turning her attention back to the book. She watched as he wrote down the problems and worked out the solutions underneath. It looked like a foreign language to her. Katniss quickly grew restless. She shifted around and fidgeted waiting for him to be done.

"Bored?" he asked her.

"Yeah." she admitted. "I'm going to go outside for a little."

"I'll come get you when I'm done." he said. Katniss went outside and finally cleaned up the broken glass from the night before. She looked over at Haymitch's house and found him passed out in the rocking chair on the porch. She wondered if he had been there all day. As angry as she was at him, he was still her mentor and she felt bad for him. He had no one. She let out a sigh before she walked over to the front porch.

"Haymitch, get up." she said nudging him. There was no response. "Haymitch, come on." She heard him mutter some incoherent sentences. "Haymitch let's go inside." She put he arm around her shoulder and helped him up. He almost took them both down but she managed to lean him against the doorframe while she opened the front door. Katniss couldn't believe the condition of his house. There was garbage and empty bottles everywhere and the place smelled horrible.

She took him to the couch and helped him lay down. She rushed to the windows and opened them to get some fresh inside the putrid house. Next, she looked in his fridge to get him some water or food but all that she found were bottles of white liquor. Did he ever eat? It didn't really matter because he had passed out by the time she got back to him. As much as she wanted to book it out of there, she thought maybe she could find more about her mentor by looking through his possessions.

Katniss walked over to the mantle where a few photos stood in broken picture frames. She guessed he must have thrown them around in a fit of rage. That's why the glass was cracked. One held a picture of a young Haymitch with a girl. It was probably taken before his Quarter Quell. She couldn't imagine Haymitch with a girlfriend. He did look a lot different than he did now. He looked happy. She studied the next photo. Haymitch was just a boy with his mother and what must have been his younger brother. She wondered what happened to all those people in those photos. His mother might have been old enough to have passed away but what about the girl and the little boy? She knew he would never answer that question for her. At the edge of the mantle, she saw a gold crown. It must have been his for the crowning ceremony. She noticed it was heavily dented and misshaped. He probably tried to destroy it.

Katniss couldn't be in there any longer. Everything about that place was overwhelming. When she reached his porch, she took a few deep breaths of fresh air. When she walked back into her house, she could hear Peeta and Prim talking in the living room. She was halfway up the stairs when she heard Prim shout 'I hate her!'. Katniss sat down on a stair to listen.

"Prim, calm down." Peeta instructed her.

"Do you know how many times she has tried to talk to me since she got back? None!" she said as she cried.

"This is a difficult time for her right now."

"What about you? She talks to you like everyday. How can she talk to you and not me?"

"Because I mean nothing to her." he replied. Katniss wondered if he was just saying that or if he really meant it. Peeta might have been a stranger in the beginning but she now considered him a friend.

"That's not true." Prim said in reply. Leave it to Prim to try to comfort someone even in her time of distress.

"If you knew what she has been through, you would understand."

"Yes, I know. Gale died and it's sad but I could help her too." she said.

"Is that all you think happened in there?" he asked her.

"I don't know." Prim said. Katniss could tell by her inflection that Prim had never thought about her getting hurt. "I just thought that Gale kept her safe."

"He did. He tried as hard as he could but sometimes, even he couldn't save her."

"Peeta, what happened to her?" she asked him. There was silence in the air while he debated what to say next.

"I can't tell you that. Maybe you need to ask her."

"What if she won't tell me?"

"She'll tell you when she's ready." he said.

Katniss heard her mother shout for one of them to get Katniss for dinner. Peeta asked Prim if she wanted to but she said no. Katniss watched as Peeta walked to the hall and opened the front door. He looked outside for her and then turned around after he closed the door. His eyes locked on hers when he saw her on the stairs. She quickly broke her eye contact with him and she could hear him climbing the stairs.

"Katniss." he whispered kneeling on the step below her. Katniss stood up and walked to the upstairs hallway. He followed her, of course. "So, you heard all of that?"

"My little sister hates me." Katniss said as she stared at the wall ahead of her.

"She doesn't hate you Katniss; she's just confused."

"Peeta I heard her say it."

"Think about it from her perspective. She doesn't know _anything_ that happened to you in the Arena. In her mind, she thinks that Gale kept everything bad away from you: the other tributes, the traps, the muttations."

"But how could she think that nothing bad happened to me? Every tribute gets hurt in there. She's seen the Games before."

"Look at you, Katniss. You don't even have the smallest scar on your body. You came back looking just as you did when you left."

"That's not my fault."

"She doesn't know about Gale." he said looking into her eyes. She knew what he meant by that. She could feel the tears escaping from her eyes. Peeta brushed the tears from her skin with his thumbs. He continued to speak. "Even if she knew about you and him, I still don't think she would understand. She's too young to know what love can do to a person."

Katniss felt the heartache return. She should have known better than to think that it was gone forever. It was just hiding temporarily until someone mentioned him in that way. She slowly breathed in and out to calm herself.

"We should probably go downstairs…when you are ready." he said.

"I'm ready." Katniss said without hesitation. They silently made their way down the staircase, and into the kitchen, where Prim and her mother were waiting for them. Katniss took her seat next to her mother yet Peeta remained standing.

"I don't think I'm going to stay tonight. I have to get home…we clean the bakery on Monday nights." he said.

'_That is clearly a lie._' Katniss thought. She found it weird that he didn't even try to make it seem truthful. He had always had a way with words.

"I'll walk you out." Katniss said as she stood from her seat.

"No, it's fine, I'll let myself out." he said holding his hand out as if to stop her. "You should stay here with your family."

Katniss could hear him pick up his backpack before he opened and closed the door. Her attention turned to Prim who was glaring at her. A minute later, Prim stood up from the table and stomped all the way to her room. Her mother quickly followed after Prim. Katniss sat at the table, by herself, feeling more alone than she had felt in her whole life.

* * *

Katniss laid in bed, unable to sleep. She had way too much on her mind at the moment. She wished Gale was with her. He would know exactly want to say to cheer her up and then call her by that stupid nickname he made up for her so long ago.

She didn't want things to be like this with Prim and her anymore. She loved her more than anything else. Somehow in the past few months she had forgotten that. She knew she had to do something to get through to Prim and she knew she couldn't wait any longer. Katniss stood up from her bed and swiftly made her way out of her room and down the hall to Prim's room. She quietly opened the door. Prim must have calmed down because her mother was no longer with her. Katniss kept the door opened a crack and then went over to Prim.

"Prim! Prim, wake up!" Katniss whispered. She gently shook Prim's shoulder to wake her from her sleep. When Prim opened her eyes, she started to scream. Katniss quickly covered her mouth. "Prim, be quiet, you'll wake up mom! I'm not going to hurt you."

"What are you doing here?" she asked once Katniss' hand was away from her mouth.

"Do you want to know what happened to me?" Katniss asked. Prim nodded. "Come on." She grabbed Prim's hand and led her to the door.

"Katniss, where are we going?"

"I'm going to show you the footage."

"But I'm not allowed!"

"You have to see it sooner or later." Katniss said.

"But how do you know it's even on right now?" Prim asked her.

"It's on." she said. She turned on the TV as they sat on the couch in the media room. Katniss was familiar with how this television worked from her time in the Capitol. She guided herself through the menus until she found the footage from the 74th Hunger Games.

"You have to watch all of it, ok?" Katniss said to her. Prim nodded. "Now Prim, there are going to be things in here that aren't pleasant."

"I've seen the Games before, I know what kind of things happen there."

"Yes but you've never seen them happen to me." Katniss said.

"Katniss, did you kill anyone?" she asked looking up to her.

"Just watch, Prim." she said. Katniss skipped to the beginning of the Games. She felt like she was watching this for the first time too, since she wasn't really paying attention at the crowning ceremony. She felt her heart skip a beat when Gale's face flashed on the screen. She watched as Gale ran straight through the middle of bloodbath in the Cornucopia. He quickly reached down on the ground twice, first to get a knife and then to grab the backpack. In the background, she could see Cato drive his sword into Rue. She flinched even though she knew he was saving her from a worse fate. Next, they showed Katniss being reunited with Gale and their journey through the arena. Everything was fine until the part where Gale's leg got caught in the trap.

"Gale!" Prim said in shock.

"Don't worry, he'll be ok." Katniss reassured her.

Next, the screen cut to her in the cave, taking care of Gale. She knew at any moment, they would show the kiss. When it came to that part, she looked over at Prim for her reaction. Her eyes were wide and her mouth fell to the floor.

"Katniss!" she said in shock. "You kissed Gale!"

"Yeah I know. I was there." she said.

"But you are just friends."

"Just watch." Katniss said, not ready to explain it all to Prim. Next, the screen showed Katniss' run in with the boy from District 9. When he started to strangle her, Prim threw herself onto Katniss as she shouted her name.

"Prim, it's ok. I don't die." she said lightheartedly. Clearly she wasn't going to die if she was sitting next to Prim at the moment. Prim then let out a gasp when she saw Katniss stab him in the heart. She looked back at the screen once she heard Gale's voice again. Before Katniss knew it, the confession scene was playing. She saw Prim smile when Gale told her loved her.

"Who is 'him?'" Prim asked Katniss as they watched more.

"What do you mean?" Katniss asked confused.

"He said, 'I was always jealous of him.' Who was he talking about Katniss?" she asked.

"Just some boy from school. It was a long time ago." she said hoping she wouldn't ask for anymore details. They watched some more, with Prim adding sound effects as she reacted to what happened on the screen. It was almost time for the fire.

"Prim, this is the worst part." she said before Clove lit her back with the lighter.

"Katniss!" she shouted painfully as she watched the flames spread over her sister's back. Katniss wrapped her arms around Prim and held her close. "Katniss, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I had no idea…" she trailed off.

"It's not your fault." Katniss said as she stroked Prim's hair.

"Why didn't you tell me? If you had told me, I wouldn't have been so mad at you." she said as she struggled to breathe through her crying.

"Don't worry, it's ok." she said.

One thing that bothered Katniss was that whoever edited the clips didn't include the conversation she had with Cato before he died. It made her look like she was happy to kill him. The people in District 2 were going to hate her. They also cut the scene where her and Gale jumped off the cliff, as not to shake up things in the Districts. They were getting close to the part where Gale died. She still wasn't ready to watch that part yet. She was starting to cry just thinking about it. She dug her face into Prim's shoulder as the footage rolled, too afraid to look.

"Gale!" Prim whimpered as she watched his death. For the rest of the broadcast, Prim and Katniss held onto each other and cried. They were no longer mad at one another. Things were back to how they used to be.

"Come on, Prim. Let's get some sleep." Katniss said. She walked Prim to her room and climbed into her bed after Prim told Katniss not to leave her by herself.

"Katniss?" Prim softly said to get her attention.

"Yes?"

"What does it feel like…to kiss a boy?" she asked her. Katniss found it a little bizarre for her sister to be asking her that so late at night.

"It feels good." she said giving her a simple answer. She thought about why Prim might be asking her this. "Do you want to kiss a boy?"

"Yeah." she replied.

"Don't you think you are a little too young for that?" she asked her.

"No." she said simply.

"We'll talk about this later. You have school tomorrow." she said.

"Goodnight Katniss…I love you." Prim said.

"I love you too, little duck." she said. Katniss closed her eyes and felt Prim curl up next to her. She was happy to have her sister back.

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**Yay, Prim and Katniss are acting like sister again! Don't forget to review ;)**


	6. The Hawthornes

**Another day, another chapter! Enjoy! Also, don't worry, you'll find out how Gale died in the arena (Chapter 10 or 11). **

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Chapter 6

As the days went by, Katniss felt more comfortable being around and talking to Prim. She felt their relationship return to how it was before the Games. She didn't even seem to mind when Prim asked her about things that happened in the arena. Their mom quickly found out that Katniss had shown Prim the footage, because Prim had horrible nightmares for a whole week. She got into a lot of trouble for that. Still, Katniss was sure that her mother was relieved that they girls were speaking once again.

Katniss hadn't seen Peeta Mellark since that night he left before dinner. She wasn't sure how long it had been since his last visit. She lost count after day 13. At first, she was upset that he didn't return but then she realized that maybe that was it…maybe he felt like he helped her enough to through the bad times. What he had said to her made her realize that she couldn't shut out Prim forever. She just wished she could have thanked him for all he had done. Without him, she'd still be confined her dark bedroom, unable to move from her bed.

Although things had improved, she still had a hard time whenever she thought about Gale. She still couldn't believe he was gone. She reflected about alternate versions of their lives sometimes. She thought about what they would be doing if he made it out with her. They'd probably spend their time in the woods hunting and swimming in the lake. She thought about what their lives would be like if he had never volunteered at all. He'd be slaving away at the coalmines, but at least he would be alive. She wouldn't see him much, but she knew they would have Sunday to spend however they wanted. Any amount of time, no matter how small would have been better than this.

Katniss walked down to dinner one evening to find her mother setting the table in the dining room, instead of the kitchen. The table set for seven. She looked to her mother with confusion. She wondered whom the extra settings were for.

"Since when do we entertain?" she asked.

"The Hawthornes are coming over for dinner. They should be here any minute." her mother said as she started placing dishes of food in the center of the table.

'_No, this can't be happening. I'm not ready for this._' she thought to herself. She hadn't seen them since the day of the Reaping, apart from the burial. Once she got back, she couldn't bear to face them. It was her fault that their son and brother never made it home alive. She could feel the panic overtake her. Then she realized something even worse. She promised him that she would take care of them. How were they getting by without the game she was supposed to bring them? Katniss paced the hallway, waiting for their arrival, trying to think of something to say. When she heard the doorbell chime, she knew it was them.

Katniss greeted them and let them inside. As soon as Hazelle was in the door, she hugged her as tight as she could. She always felt like a mother to Katniss, especially during the period when her real mother was too depressed to care about her. Mrs. Hawthorne always made sure she was ok and Katniss knew she could go to her for anything.

"I'm sorry." Katniss whispered repeatedly as tears steamed down her face.

"Children, go in the kitchen to see if Mrs. Everdeen needs some help. We will be there in a moment." Hazelle said. Mrs. Hawthorne took her to stairs where they sat down together.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" she asked calmly as she rubbed her back. Katniss thought it weird that she would ask this. Wasn't it obvious?

"I'm sorry I couldn't come around…it was just too painful."

"It's fine. You've had a lot to deal with."

"But I promised him I'd take care of you…that I wouldn't let you starve."

"Don't worry, you're mother has been stopping by every week. We are all doing fine." she told Katniss.

"You must hate me."

"No one hates you."

"But I couldn't save him. I tried but he just wouldn't…" she trailed off.

"Katniss, you know how Gale was. Once he had an idea in his head, he was too stubborn to let anyone change his mind." Hazelle said with a smile. For a while his mother just looked at her. "Katniss, it will get better. The pain will go away."

"It just hurts so much. I never thought that I felt that way about him…that I loved him like that."

"He loved you so much. You're all he ever talked about." his mother said as she put her arm around Katniss. "You changed his life, really."

"I wish I had never met him. Then everything would be ok."

"Don't say that. I don't think you realized the impact you had on him. After his father's death, he was a young man that was angry at the world. You changed that. You made him see that there was more than just traveling through life with a grudge. You made him happy." As sincere as her words were, Katniss still didn't want to believe her.

"Do you ever miss him…Mr. Hawthorne?"

"Of course I do."

"But the heartache…does it ever go away?"

"It gets better but it's all up to you. You have to find a way to carry on. You need to find another reason to live. For me, it was my children."

Katniss thought about what she could possible have to live for. Then she thought of Prim. She saw how much Prim had changed during the time that Katniss wasn't herself. She couldn't let Prim go through life, bitter and defeated. Hazelle escorted Katniss into the dining room, where they took their seats. As soon as they were seated, everyone started filling their plates with food.

As they ate, Katniss looked at each other of Gale's siblings. Posy looked as happy as ever. She was too young to really understand what was going on. Even Vick looked like he was his usual self. When she looked across the table at Rory, she saw him looking at her with an icy stare as he stabbed his peas with his fork. It didn't help that he looked like a miniature version of Gale. She wondered what he was thinking. She didn't have to wait long to know exactly what was on his mind.

"You know it's your fault he's dead." Rory said with venom in his voice.

"Rory!" his mother exclaimed.

"What it's true! She's the reason he went into the Games."

"I told him not to volunteer." Katniss said to Rory.

"Yeah and he was being stupid!" he said to her. She kept her mouth shut to avoid an argument. They ate in silence. People tried to add in little niceties but no real conversations were occurring.

"I'm not even sure you really loved him. You probably just tricked him so you could win and come home." Rory said when Katniss looked up from her plate. She quickly stood up and slammed her hands onto the table.

"You take that back!" she shouted as she leaned toward him.

"If you love him so much then why are you spending so much time with that other guy…Peeta."

"It's not like that." she defended herself.

"Prim told me he comes over here everyday and you hang out in your bedroom." he said in a suggestive voice.

Prim must have told him that when she still angry at her. Katniss got up from the table and stormed out of the room. She quickly made her way to her room and locked the door. She ran to her bed and collapsed face down in the pillows as she wept.

She did love him. How could Rory say that? She knew he was still upset from losing his brother but it wasn't her fault. She wanted Gale to win. And why was everyone so quick to think that there was something going on between her and Peeta. He was only trying to help her. Not once had they acted in a romantic way towards each other.

That little voice was starting to return in the back of her head, telling her that she was responsible for his death. That she gave up on trying to save him. The pain returned as well. She wanted something, anything to take it away. She wished she had one of those pills from the Capitol…the Forget-Me-Now pill. She didn't want to think about him any longer. She just wanted to forget. All that she could do was close her eyes and hope that sleep would take her away from all the sadness.

When Katniss regained consciousness, it was nearly 6 in the morning. The sleep hadn't made her feel any better. All the emotions from that night returned. She thought about Haymitch and the liquor and wondered if that worked. She was desperate for anything that could take her mind off Gale. She quietly made her way out of the house and went over to Haymitch's. She knocked but he didn't answer so she let herself in. She found himself passed out at the kitchen table with a bottle of liquor in one hand and a knife in the other. She decided it was best not to disturb him, as she had known that it is not best to try to wake someone who has a weapon in his or her hand. She opened the fridge and grabbed one of the smaller bottles of liquor. She wasn't looking for a stockpile, just enough to last her through the day.

When she returned to her porch, she opened it and took a swig. She coughed heavily after she tried to consume way too much at one time. Her throat felt as if it were on fire. When she recovered, she tried again, this time taking a small sip. It was more manageable that way and she started to like the way it burned. She could feel the liquor starting to take effect and she understood the appeal the liquor had for Haymitch. It was an escape.

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**Looks like Katniss has turned to the bottle...what do you think she'll do next?**


	7. The Incident

**Here is a Chapter from Peeta's POV.**

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Chapter 7

Peeta Mellark quickly restocked the shelves with loaves of bread. The bakery was busy today. Ever since the Parcel Days started, their business had seemed to pick up. He guessed it was because the people of District 12 had some spare change so they decided to use the extra money they had to buy bread. For some, this might be the only chance in their lives to taste real bakery bread. His oldest brother, Fen, came up to him and started talking.

"You better get out there." Fen said to him as he tilted his head towards the window.

"Fen, in case you haven't noticed, we have a full store right now."

"Peeta I know, but it's important." Fen said. Peeta knew that Fen had to be serious about that. While Carac was always more of a jokester, Fen knew that there was a time to have fun and a time to be serious. Peeta placed the loaf of bread in his hands on the shelf and walked around the counter to the door. Once he was outside, he understood exactly why Fen had called on him. Walking in the street was a drunk Katniss Everdeen, singing, with a bottle wrapped in brown paper in hand. He recognized the song instantly. Her father used to sing it sometimes in the bakery when he was younger. It was called The Hanging Tree. Peeta remembered how mad his mother would get at Mr. Everdeen singing that song, and now that Peeta was grown up, he realized that Katniss' father sang it just to piss her off.

Peeta could see that a crowd was starting to form. He had to get her out of there. He walked quickly over to her and grabbed her free hand. He pulled her away from the street and into the bakery. Every eye in the room was on them and he continued to pull on her.

"Peeta, let go of me!" she shouted she tried to pull her arm away from him. He didn't let go of her until they were on the back porch. He grabbed the bottle of liquor and threw it into the bushes.

"Katniss, you can't go around singing songs like that! If a Peacekeeper had seen you, they would have you arrested!" he reprimanded her.

"I don't care."

"Yeah because you're drunk. Is this how it's going to be from now on? Are you going to be the new Haymitch of District 12?"

"Last night was a rough night."

"Well there are better ways to handle your problems."

Katniss didn't say anything in response. Instead she walked down the stairs of the porch. He wondered where she was going as he followed her. He watched her slide her back down the tree at the edge of their property until she was sitting at the base of the tree. His mind flashed back to that day when they were 11. It was the same tree and she had the same expression on her face. It was a look of complete hopelessness.

He sat down beside her and waited for her to speak. Instead she broke down in tears. After a few minutes she said what she must have been thinking about.

"You should have just left me here. Everyone would have been better off."

"Katniss that's not true." he said. He couldn't imagine leaving her there to die.

"Yes it is. I was near death anyway. Gale would have never met me and he would be safe."

"What about everyone else? Gale is just one person."

She looked at him with a look of disgust and he realized how horrible that sounded to her.

"That's not how I meant it. Come on Katniss let's get you inside." he said as he helped her up. The alcohol must have kicked in even more because she had trouble walking by herself. Even though Peeta helped her by propping her up with his arm, she still stumbled around.

"Peeta, I feel dizzy." she said grabbing her head with her hand.

"Yeah, too much alcohol will do that to you." he said as he led her upstairs to his bedroom. He pulled back the covers and helped her get her get settled into his bed.

"Peeta, stay here." she said as her hand gripped his wrist.

"I have to go help downstairs. I've already caused enough trouble today." he said standing up from the edge of the bed. "The bathroom's across the hall if you need it. I'll come and check on you."

Peeta was dreading going back downstairs. He knew he'd be in trouble for bringing her in there. He knew he couldn't hide away though. As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw his mother waiting for him. She grabbed his arm and forcefully led him into the pantry. She shut the door and pushed him into the shelves behind him.

"How dare you bring that girl in here!" she shouted at him.

"She needed help." Peeta said.

"I don't care what that girl needs! Do you know what you could have done! We're lucky the customers didn't clear out after the scene she caused."

"Is that all you care about?" he asked.

"Without those customers, we'd have nothing."

"We'd have each other." Peeta said. It wasn't true though. He knew he'd never have his mother's love, something he wanted so desperately. She was supposed to be on his side. She was the one keeping them from being a whole family.

"I never want you to see that girl again. She is trouble, just like her father."

"No." Peeta refused. He knew what was coming next. She grabbed something from the shelf and struck him across the face. He wasn't sure what she used but he knew it was solid and metal. He felt his cheek throb with pain. He turned his body and his back got the second blow. It was several more times before she finally stopped hitting him. She then left the room, leaving him alone. He sat there for a few minutes and then went to the door to that separated the back room from the front of the bakery. He opened it slightly and watched his mother behave as though nothing had happened.

He worked in the back of the bakery for the rest of the day. He checked on Katniss throughout the rest of his shift. The first time he went upstairs, she was passed out still. He checked her breathing to make sure she was still alive. He had no idea how much alcohol she had consumed. The second time, he could hear her throwing up in the bathroom. He left before she had exited the bathroom. It would have only embarrassed her. He knew Katniss didn't like to appear weak.

After he ate dinner with his family, he went up to his room, sneaking a cheese bun from the bakery for Katniss.

"Katniss, wake up." he said gently.

"I feel like death." she said as she covered her head with a pillow. Unfortunately, Peeta didn't have anything to get rid of the pain.

"I brought you some bread…maybe that will help." he suggested. She removed the pillow and slowly sat up.

"Peeta." she gasped as she held her hand up to his face. He winced as she lightly touched the bruised that had formed over his cheekbone. He had forgotten about that.

"It's nothing." he said. Katniss reached over and turned on the light. "It's really not as bad as it looks."

"This is all my fault." she said blaming herself.

"No, it's mine, and I don't want to hear otherwise." he said. He handed her the cheese bun. "Here eat this, it will help with the hangover."

She took it from him, tore off a small piece and placed it in her mouth.

"Why did you drink that stuff?" he asked her.

"I told you…last night was a rough night." she said.

"But what happened?"

"The Hawthornes came over for dinner and his brother, Rory, had no problems expressing what he really thought about me."

"What did he say to you?" he asked with a look of apprehension.

"That is was my fault Gale is dead…and some other stuff."

"Katniss, you know you can always come to me if you ever need to talk."

"Well you haven't exactly been around. I haven't seen you in weeks."

"Yeah, I know." he said looking down. To tell the truth, he had been avoiding her ever since that conversation they had that night in the hallway about Gale. A part of him was still hoping that everything with Gale was just a part of their strategy, that she didn't really love him. He knew it was selfish of him to think that way. He also knew that if she was in love with Gale, it would greatly complicate things, and she might never get over him.

When Katniss was finished eating, he turned off the lights and laid down on the bed.

"Katniss, scoot over. You're taking up the whole bed."

"No I'm not." she disagreed. It was only a twin bed so there wasn't much room as it was. Peeta leaned over her.

"You've got about 4 inches of space." he said.

"Ok, fine." she said scooting over. She must have overestimated how much room she had because she started to fall over the side.

"Peeta!" she shouted. He somehow managed to wrap his arm around her and pull her back onto the bed.

"Shh! No one knows you're here." he said to her.

"Are you not allowed to have girls spend the night?" she asked with curiosity.

"Um, I don't know." His parents never formally had that conversation with him. Maybe he wasn't.

"Do you think they heard me?" she whispered.

"I think they would be in here by now if they did."

"It doesn't help that your bed is so small." Katniss said to him.

"Well I'm sorry. I usually have the whole bed to myself."

"_Usually_?" she asked with a bubbling curiosity.

"No, that's not what I meant." he said quickly. The last thing he wanted her to think was that he brought other girls to his room.

"When you share a bed, you have to make certain adjustments. For one thing, you don't get to sleep on your back." she said.

"Ok, fine." he said as he turned onto his side. "Is that better?" She nodded.

"Peeta, I'm sorry about earlier."

"Don't worry about it." he said. It would take a lot for him to not be able to forgive her.

"I wonder if this is how Haymitch feels all the time. He drinks like that everyday."

"Well I hope you don't follow in his footsteps."

"Don't worry, I'll never touch that stuff again. It's not worth it."

As Peeta laid in bed next to her, he couldn't help but think of something she had said earlier in the day. He wasn't sure if she had said it because she was drunk or if she actually meant it.

"Katniss, what you said earlier today…you didn't actually mean that, did you?" he asked her. He watched as her eyes flickered away from his. He knew that her answer was yes. "How could you think that?"

"No one would have missed me." she said.

"That's not true." he said. '_I would have_.'

"Peeta, I'm not like you. I don't have tons of friends. The fact of the matter is that I just would have been one more statistic; one more person from the Seam that didn't make it."

"You know you're not as invisible to the world as you may think."

"Well, yeah, not now." she said.

"Not ever." he said. He looked into her eyes, unable to look away. She had a confused look on her face, as if she didn't fully understand him. Surely he couldn't be the only one in District 12 that she had left an impression on. "I don't think you know the impact you have on other people."

"How?"

"You help everyone so much, like with your hunting, for example."

"I do that for my family."

"Yes, but you trade with people at the Hob, and my father always seems a little happier when you bring him those squirrels."

"I guess."

"Katniss, people like you. When you were gone, things were different here. I'd never seen anything like it before…during the previous Games. You know what it's usually like here. People disconnect themselves; they know our tributes die in the first day or two. You gave people hope."

"Are you sure it wasn't Gale that made the people act like that?"

"No, I heard what people said. It was all for you." he said. He could tell she didn't know how to react to that. He leaned closer to her and wrapped his arm around her for a hug. "You matter. Remember that." he whispered in her ear. He let go of her and closed his eyes to avoid any of the possible awkwardness between them.

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**FYI- just wanted to let you know that Katniss isn't going to become an alcoholic like Haymitch. **


	8. The Bakery

**This chapter has Peeta and Katniss' POV. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.

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Chapter 8

Peeta woke up earlier than usual the next morning. He had a lot of work to get done today. In addition to the bread he had to bake, he also had to assemble and frost a 5-tier cake for the Mayor's wife's birthday. He also wanted to spend some more time with Katniss before the weekend was over. He went into the kitchen where Carac was already eating breakfast.

"You're up early." Peeta told his brother.

"Yeah, well I wanted to see how it went." Carac said.

"How what went?" Peeta asked grabbing a piece of toast of Carac's plate. He didn't even seem to mind.

"You know…the sex." he said smoothly.

"The what?" Peeta said taken off guard.

"Oh, come on Peeta, I heard her shout your name last night." he said with a laugh. He then raised his voice a few octaves and shouted "_Peeta!"_

"Stop, she'll hear you." he said as hit his brother in the arm. "And we didn't do anything. She was falling out of bed and I caught her."

"Why was she falling out of bed in the first place?" Carac asked. Peeta knew he was enjoying this way too much. Peeta rolled his eyes at his brother before he went to make his own breakfast. "Aww come on, Peeta. I'm just messing with you. That's what older brothers do."

"Yeah I know." he said as he grabbed two eggs from the fridge.

"Here is some brotherly advice though. You better be careful or you'll end up in the 'friend zone'."

"Great, more Carac terminology." Peeta said with a laugh. His brother was notorious in their family for making up different words or phrases for things.

"Unfortunately, I can't take credit for that one. And you are cutting it close with her. If you don't move soon, she'll only see you as a friend. Friend zone is the kiss of death."

"Sorry I'm not like you. I can't just go up to any girl and shove my tongue down her throat." Peeta said. Carac seemed to take this as a compliment as he smiled widely.

"All I'm saying is don't wait too much longer. That's all." he said.

* * *

(Katniss POV)

When Katniss woke up, the space next to her was empty. She realized that bakers don't get to sleep in, not even on Sundays. She went into the bathroom to wash her face and then made her way downstairs to find Peeta. She found him in the back shaping the dough into ovals. He smiled when he saw her and motioned for her to come closer.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked her.

"Better. The headache's finally gone."

"Good. Do you want to help?" he asked her.

"I'm pretty clueless when it comes to making bread." she said.

"I'll teach you." he said. He brought over a bowl of risen dough and split it between the two of them. He showed her how to knead the dough but she didn't think she was doing a good job. She looked up at him when she heard a stifled laugh escape him.

"What?" she asked him.

"You have to knead it, not press it." he said.

"There's a difference?" she asked. This clearly wasn't her expertise.

"Here, let me show you." he said. She watched as Peeta stood behind her. He gently placed his hands over hers, showing her the motion. Katniss felt her heart jump.

"See like that." he said as moved to the side. Their eyes met for a second before she looked back down to the dough. She was sure her cheeks were bright red by now.

"Yeah thanks." she said. They remained silent for a good while before he told her how to shape and score the loaves. They placed the raw dough on a tray and brought them to the oven. She watched as Peeta carefully placed the loaves into the oven. While they waited, they continued to ready some more loaves to bake.

"Hey Katniss." Peeta said trying to get her attention. She looked up at him and saw that he had a big pile of flour in his hand. "Watch this." He then slapped his hands together causing a big cloud of flour to burst in the air surrounding them. He took his hand and spread the remaining flour lightly over her cheek.

"Peeta!" she said with a smile. Her eyes narrowed as she reached into the flour container and then rubbed a fistful of flour in his hair. He returned the favor. The flour fight ensued until they were both dying of laughter. As soon as Katniss realized what she was doing, she stopped.

"Katniss, it's ok, you know." Peeta told her.

"I haven't laughed in such a long time. It feels out of place."

"You can't take life too seriously." he told her.

The timer went off and Peeta made his way back to the oven. He used the wooden paddle to lift them out of the oven and onto the cooling rack. As Katniss watched him, she realized that it took a lot of work to make bread. She always thought it would be easier.

"Katniss, come look." he said waving her closer. She stood beside him at the cooling racks. "You're a baker now."

"I think I have a long way to go before you can call me that." she said. She traced the lines on the top of the bread with her finger. They were the same markings as the loaf she received in the Arena.

"The bread I got towards the middle of the Games. That came from here, didn't it?" she asked him softly.

"Yes, it did."

"How did that work?" she asked.

"Haymitch called us and asked for a loaf for you and Gale. He said he wanted to give you something to remind you of home, so I made the loaf and shipped it off to the Capitol in a hovercraft."

"That seems like an awful lot of work, just for one loaf of bread."

"I guess he thought it was important." Peeta said. Their conversation was interrupted by both of his brothers walking in the back.

"What the—" Fen trailed off in shock as he saw the whole back room covered in flour. There was even some flour particles still floating in the air.

"Sorry." Peeta said.

"You better clean this up before Mom gets back." Fen told him.

"It's fine, they were just having a little fun." Carac said winking at Peeta.

"How long til she's home?"

"Under a half hour." Fen said.

"So, that means you'll help us?" Peeta asked innocently.

"Yes, but you owe me." he replied. "You might want to get her out of here, though."

"I can help." Katniss offered. After all, she did make half of the mess.

"No it's alright. I'll meet you out back." Peeta said to her. Katniss went outside and dusted the flour off as best she could. Not all of it would escape the dark fibers of her clothing. Next, she worked on her hair. She loosened the braid and shook her hair out with her fingers. She wasn't sure how much that helped. Peeta returned with a damp washcloth for her to wipe the flour off her skin.

"Thanks. Your brother's not mad, is he?"

"No, he just knows how much my mother hates a mess…especially an unnecessary mess."

"Who said it was unnecessary?" Katniss said with a smile as she tossed the towel to him. This made him smile back at her.

"Don't be a stranger, ok." he told her.

"Same to you." she said before she walked towards home. She took the way home where she didn't have a chance of running into someone. The last thing she needed was for people to see her covered in flour. They would have known where she came from.

"Katniss what happened to you?" Prim asked as she saw her sister walk through the front door.

"I was hanging out with Peeta at the bakery."

"What were you doing?"

"Just baking some bread." she said as she went upstairs to wash off all the flour.

* * *

(Peeta POV)

With the help of his brothers, Peeta got to work to clean the flour. They worked from top to bottom to rid the surfaces of any flour. Peeta couldn't help from smiling as he cleaned up the mess.

"What is it?" Fen asked him.

"I made her laugh today." he said feeling very proud.

"Progress." Carac said patting him on the back, causing flour to fly off his shirt.

"Yeah." he said. Maybe he had a shot with her after all.

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**Let me know what you thought of this chapter. I really liked writing the part w/ Peeta and Katniss in the bakery together :)**


	9. The Victory Tour

**Here is Chapter 9! Thanks for the reviews!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

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Chapter 9

Before Katniss knew it, the Victory Tour was here. Effie, Cinna, and her prep team arrived in District 12 a week early to prepare her for the tour. She never realized all the work that went into it. There were fittings with Cinna, speech practices with Haymitch, and etiquette classes with Effie. Every day was fully planned.

The day before her departure, Haymitch and Effie gave her the day off. She spent her day with her mother and Prim. That evening, she was spending time with Peeta after he was done working in the bakery. They planned on meeting at her house in the Seam. Katniss went to the back to start a fire in the fire pit her father built when she was young.

Even though it was December, the weather was still mild. In fact, it was the warmest December on record. There was a chill in the air but the fire would take care of that. She still brought out some blankets just in case. Peeta walked around to meet her.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." he said as he walked up and hugged her. That's what they did now.

"What's in the bag?" she asked him.

"Treats." he said. They sat on a blanket on the ground and leaned back on the log behind him. He reached into his bag and pulled out a bag of marshmallows. Katniss retrieved two thin branches from a nearby tree. She used a knife to clean the bark off the ends. They pierced their marshmallows onto their sticks and held them near the fire. Katniss' had gotten too close and ignited on fire. She cringed as it made her think about her time in the arena. Peeta pulled her stick toward him and blew out the flames. He removed the marshmallow from the stick and threw it into the fire.

"Try it again." he said as he replaced it with a new one. "So, how are you feeling about tomorrow?"

"How do you think?" she said giving him a look.

"You'll do fine. You've already have been through the worst."

"Yeah."

"Katniss, do you ever think about what it would have been like if we had gone into the Games together?" he asked her. She wasn't expecting this.

"No." she said honestly.

"I have."

"And?"

"I would have done exactly what he did."

"It's easy to say that now. You know me."

"I knew you back then."

"Not really."

"I guess it wouldn't have mattered anyway. I wouldn't have made it past the second day." he said before he ate the marshmallow off the stick.

"Yes you would have."

"I'm a baker Katniss. Those skills don't really apply." he said. She thought back to the train ride to the Capitol with Gale. He didn't think that Peeta would have lasted long but Katniss knew better than that.

"You're strong. I've seen those bags of flour you have to lift. And you're smart. You are also quite charming. You would definitely get the sponsors and would form an alliance with someone in the arena."

"I'm charming?" he asked with interest. She immediately regretted saying that.

"Yes, how else do you think everyone likes you?"

"I guess you are right." he said.

"Peeta, how much of the Games did you watch?" she asked him.

"A lot. Why?"

"I was just wondering what things they left out in the initial broadcast." she said. It was well known that sometimes some questionable scenes made it through the occasional live airings of the Games. On the highlights and rebroadcasts, they would be cut out once the Gamemakers knew what happened.

"Tell me what they are and I'll tell you if I saw them."

"The cliff jump."

"Yes."

"What about the rebellion song I sang near the end?"

"About three lines into the song, they had _audio difficulties_." he said.

"How convenient." Katniss said sarcastically. "What about what Gale said right before he died?"

"They didn't show that."

"Oh." Katniss said gazing into the fire. It must have been really bad if they didn't show it. They usually run the whole finale live. No wonder President Snow threatened her at the crowning ceremony. She felt Peeta's arm around her shoulder and she leaned into the side of him, resting her head on his chest.

"What's wrong, Katniss?" he asked her. She debated whether or not she should tell him about the threat, or about how much danger she could be in if the tour doesn't go smoothly. She decided not to. It would only make him worry while she is away.

"I just wish I didn't have to go." she ended up saying.

"It will be over before you know it." he said. She could tell he was trying to keep her optimistic.

"I hope." she said quietly. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths through her nose. This helped to relax her.

"Katniss…Katniss wake up." Peeta whispered into her ear.

"Huh?"

"You drifted off."

"Oh, sorry."

"Do you want to go inside?" he asked her.

"No, let's stay out here for just a little longer." she said. She felt him lean to the right, and then felt a blanket being wrapped around the both of them. She rested her head closer to his body so that her ear was level with his heart. She could hear it beating steadily. She wondered if it always beat that steady for him. He always seemed so calm.

He must have thought that she had fallen asleep again, but this time he didn't wake her. He gently laid Katniss on the ground before he extinguished the fire. Then she felt him lift her up and carry her into the house. She cracked open one of her eyes to see where he was taking her next. He opened the door to her room and brought her to her small bed in the corner. She was surprised he even knew where her room was. He then sat her in his lap as he removed her boots and then tucked her under her covers. She was a little disappointed when she heard his footsteps walk away from her. She wished he had stayed. A minute later her wish came true as she heard him return. He was probably just locking up the house. She heard his shoes clunk to the ground and then he joined her under the covers. She felt him wrap his arm around her waist as he pulled himself closer to her. She couldn't help but to smile in the darkness.

The next morning, they walked back through the Seam to Victor's Village. She noticed Peeta was quieter than usual. She knew he was going to miss her. It seemed that any free time they had, they spent together. She didn't know what she could say to him, so she just remained silent. When they got to Victor's Village, she took his hand. This seemed to have the opposite effect of what she intended.

"It's not like I'm going back into the arena, Peeta." she sighed. "It's like you said…it's only two weeks."

"Yeah." he said looking at the ground. She couldn't understand why he was acting this way. He had his other friends and his brothers. It wasn't as if he was going to be all alone. Before she knew it, she was standing across him in the entry hall inside her house.

"I guess this is it." Katniss said to him.

"I'm going to miss you." he told her.

"I'll miss you too." she said wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She felt his arms wrap snugly around her as he closed the gap between them.

"I know I've told you this a hundred times before but I just wanted to say thank you for everything. If it weren't for you, I'd still be up in that bedroom."

"I'm glad I could help." he said in response. Then, they stood in silence, still embracing each other, for what felt like forever. She could hear footsteps coming towards the hall from the kitchen followed by the clearing of a throat. She knew it was Haymitch.

"Time to say goodbye." he said to them. They both quickly dropped their arms and looked his way. "Ok, I get it. I'll be in the kitchen."

Katniss and Peeta kept their goodbyes short. Once he had left, she saw Haymitch return to the hall with a smug look on his face. Then, he started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" she huffed.

"You like him too." he said with a wide smile.

"We're just friends." she corrected him.

"Does he know that?" Haymitch asked.

"Of course he does."

"You know, Katniss, I was young once too and I sure as hell wouldn't be spending as much time as that kid does with you just to be a friend." At this point in the conversation, Katniss wasn't sure if Haymitch was taunting her or trying to give her advice.

"We like spending time together. Is there anything wrong with that?" she asked him.

"No, but I think you need to make sure you're on the same page."

"We are."

"Ok…well you better get upstairs now. You have a lot of cleaning up to do." he said as he looked at his watch. "I'll see you at the station."

Katniss went to her room and was shocked to see it transformed into a mini version of the Remake Center. The process was just the same as it had been the first time her prep team worked on her in the Capitol.

As they worked on her, she couldn't help but think of the conversation she just had with Haymitch. She tried to think of anything she might have said or done that could be taken the wrong way. They did seem to hug a lot but he always seemed to initiate it. Plus, friends are allowed to hug. Then she thought about something that friends don't do. They don't fall asleep next to each other night after night. It's not like anything had ever happened between them. It was totally innocent…at least on her part. Ever since The Hunger Games, she had difficulty sleeping alone. It usually led to horrific nightmares. Having someone next to her helped.

After the prep team was done, Cinna came in and dressed her in knee length black dress that had some embellishments on the shoulders and a pair of matching flats. She said goodbye to her family and got into a car to take her to the station. They major gave a send off speech and then they were off.

Katniss had relaxed about halfway through the tour. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be apart from seeing the families of the tributes that didn't make it in the front of her in the audience. The days seemed to follow the same pattern. She would wake up, get ready, tour the District, have lunch with her team, be prepped by her team, go to the square for a speech, and then have dinner with the mayor. Cinna had worked his magic once again and created an outfit that matched the characteristics of the district she was in (without being overdone or gaudy). He even honored her request and had created some looks that weren't dresses.

When Katniss arrived in District 5, she grew a little wary. She wasn't sure how the people of that District felt about that meeting between her and Foxface. Would they be angry that she killed her or grateful that she ended her suffering?

When she stood at the podium on the stage, she could see Foxface's family to the left. They all had the same fiery red hair as her. They didn't look angry with her, which was a relief. After the mayor said a few words of congratulations and handed her a plaque, it was her turn to speak. As soon as she began to speak, the whole square went dark. She thought this was odd since this was the district that was in charge of providing power. She also found it odd that no one seemed alarmed by this. She heard a whoosh, like the sound of fabric falling. Then she saw a few spotlights come on. There was a spotlight on her as well as on the flag of Panem hanging to right of her from the top of the Justice Building. At least that's what was supposed to be there. She turned her body to see that a large stretch of black fabric with a Mockingjay sewn in the middle had covered the flag of their nation. What happened next shocked her even more.

The people of District 5 started singing…it was the rebellion song she had sung in the arena. She wondered how they could have possibly known the words if the sound had been cut off. Did someone in District 5 pass down the song, just as her family had done for generations? Maybe they taught it to other people in the district as well.

It didn't take long for the Peacekeepers to break into action. Katniss froze as she saw them firing their guns into the crowd. She heard the sound of women and children screaming and crying. They whole thing seemed surreal to her. She felt Haymitch grab her and lead her off the stage. The rest of her team followed.

"Haymitch what is that…what's going on?" she asked him in a panic.

"That, my dear, is an uprising." he said in a serious tone. The team quickly made their way to the train station to get out of the District as soon as possible to escape any of the repercussions.

Katniss sat watching the landscape of District 5 whirl past her through the window. She knew she was in trouble. President Snow would find out about this and then do something to make her pay. Her mind went straight to Prim and all she wanted to do was to be there with her now to keep her safe.

* * *

**So...what did you think of that uprising?**

**Next chapter is the chapter you've all been waiting for! You'll finally know what happened to Gale :O Look for that on Sunday or Monday...**


	10. Gale

**Here it is! This chapter has a little bit for Team Peeta and Team Gale. Make sure you read the whole chapter before making any judgements. And brace yourself because A LOT happens in this chapter!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 10

After the uprising in District 5, the Victory Tour went downhill. It didn't help that she had to visit the three Career Districts. District 2 was the worst of the three. She had been so interconnected with Cato and Clove in the Games. The way Clove's family glared at her, you would have thought that she had lit Clove on fire (not the other way around). And then there was Cato's family. She wished they had known the truth about those last moments of his life. That she wasn't some bloodthirsty tribute trying to take out her biggest competition. In those last few minutes, they had forgiven each other and even acted as friends would. His brother, who looked around his age, had this look of rage that shook her to her core. It didn't shock anyone when he ran towards her with a knife in his hand. As soon as he had jumped on the stage, a Peacekeeper shot him on the side on his head. He landed just a few feet from her. Her team and her had to make another quick exit as this caused the crowd to break into a riot.

Now she was really done for. She wouldn't be surprised if President Snow had set up a public execution for her by the time she reached the Capitol. She only hoped that he would leave her family alone. She was the one who sparked all of this with her antics in the arena. If she had known it would have led to this, she never would have done it.

When she reached the Capitol, the citizens were just as obsessed with her as when she had left. The Mockingjay was everywhere and had become a part of the latest fashions of the Capitol. Even Caesar Flickerman wore a small gold mockingjay broach on the lapel of his jacket during her interview. The interview was pretty standard, with him asking her about what her life was like now that she was a victor and what she expected as she began her journey as a mentor. Every answer she gave was a lie to please the citizens of the Capitol in the audience.

After the interview, she attended a dinner at the mansion of President Snow. She managed to avoid him for most of the night. She was too busy interacting with people in the room to even see if he was there. Towards the end of the celebration, two guards instructed her to follow them. She knew this couldn't be good. They led her down a long marble hallway with ornate wood paneling on each side. They stopped at the gold doors at the end of the hallway, and knocked. She could hear President Snow voice, telling them to come in. The two guards stayed outside, leaving Katniss all alone with him.

"Sit down." he instructed in a voice that seemed too calm. She sat in a chair that was in front of his desk. "I assume you know why you're here."

"Yes." she said.

"Your tour has created quite a stir, Miss Everdeen. We have had incidents throughout the Districts thanks to the little stunt that was pulled in five during the tour."

"But that wasn't my fault!"

"They were singing the song you sang during the Games, were they not?"

"Yes."

"And the symbol of the Mockingjay, from your District token, was on that flag."

"But I had nothing to do with that! I didn't even know what was happening."

"You were a part of that the moment you tried to eliminate the two remaining tributes from the arena. They saw what you did, and they know what you were trying to do." he told her. "You are a problem, Miss Everdeen, only we are not sure what to do with you yet. An execution would only cause more unrest. We thought about keeping you here in the Capitol but we know what your district would do if we failed to deliver you back there. When we do figure out a solution, you will be the first to know."

"What do I do in the meantime?" she asked him, keeping as composed as possible.

"You stay out of trouble. I would hate to see anything unfortunate happen to that sweet younger sister of yours. What is her name?"

"Prim." she said with malice. He knew her name; he just wanted to hear her say it. He probably knew everything about Katniss by now. He dismissed her from his office and Katniss walked back down the long, empty hallway, hoping that things would not get worse.

* * *

That night they left for District 12. The next day was the Harvest Festival where the citizens of the district would celebrate Katniss' victory. Katniss was greeted by a crowd at the station that was just as large as when she initially returned home from the Capitol. They must be so proud to be the district with the Victor this year. She made her way to the Justice Building, where she would get ready for the Festival. Cinna and her prep team dressed her in a dark green dress, black tights, and flats. She wore a knee length coat that matched the color of her dress. Cinna quickly had to remove the fur trim off the collar and sleeves because the weather had still not reached typical winter temperatures.

Katniss gave a small speech on the stage in front of the Justice building to kick off the event and then got to enjoy the festival. She ate dinner at one of the many tables set up around the square with her family and then took Prim around to the different game booths that were set up.

It felt good for Katniss to be home again, with the people she cared about the most. It also made her happy to see the people of District 12 having such a good time eating as much as they wanted and enjoying the entertainment. They never had a Harvest Festival like this before.

She looked for Peeta while she walked around the square but he was nowhere to be found. She walked to the bakery but all the lights were out. As she walked back, she saw his brother but he was too busy flirting with a merchant girl. She didn't want to interrupt so she continued walking. She made her way through the square and back to her home. At the moment, the solitude felt nice. Apart from the noise of the festival in the background, the night was calm.

When her house came into view, she saw a figure sitting on the steps to her porch. As she neared it, she saw it was Peeta. When he saw her, his face lit up with a big smile, and he walked down the path to meet her. He hugged her with so much force that she could feel the wind being knocked out her lungs. She didn't really care. She was happy to be back with him again.

"I looked for you at the festival." she said to him.

"It's a big crowd…a lot larger than usual."

"Well I don't think anyone was going to turn down the free feast." she said.

"It's good to have you back." he told her.

"It's good to be back. Let's go somewhere where we can catch up." she replied as she took his hand. She immediately regretted it but it was too late now. It was another one of those gestures that clouded the status of their relationship. _Do friends even hold hands?_

He led her to her backyard where they laid side by side in a hammock nestled between two trees. Katniss looked at stars through the bare branches, waiting for Peeta to initiate the conversation.

"Katniss, what happened in District 5?" he asked her.

"You didn't see it?" she asked.

"No, the feed cut out shortly after the people in the crowd started to sing."

"What makes you think something happened?" she asked him. She wanted to hear his reasoning.

"It's more than a little ironic that the district in control of the electricity lost power during one of the most important events of the year."

"There was an uprising." she told him.

"What did they do?" he asked. She explained, in detail, everything that occurred during the uprising in five.

"Nothing was worse than the assassination attempt, though." she concluded. A look of worry and shock appeared on Peeta's face.

"The what?"

"You didn't see that either?"

"Wait someone tried to kill you!"

"Yes, in District two. Cato's brother."

"As soon as your speech was over, they cut to the Capitol seal and the Anthem…just like they always do."

"He rushed the stage and tried to stab me. A Peacekeeper shot him in the head before he could reach me."

"Is there anything else I should know?" he asked her.

"No, other than that, it was pretty uneventful." she said.

"Well at least you are safe now." he told her.

'_But I am not._' she thought. If he only knew how much danger she was really in. That President Snow and his advisors were thinking of ways to control or eliminate her.

"Yeah." she said quietly. "It's getting pretty late. I think I'm going to call it a night." she said as she carefully climbed out of the hammock. Peeta followed her lead.

"Is it ok if I stay with you tonight?" he asked her.

"I don't think my mom would like that." she said. It probably wasn't a good idea for them to be sleeping in the same bed with the way their relationship was.

"She's probably sleeping. She won't even know I'm here." he said.

"Ok, fine." she gave in. "But we have to actually go to sleep…no talking."

"Fine with me. I have an early start anyways." he said.

They successfully made it to Katniss' room without being seen by Prim or her mother. Katniss grabbed some clothes from her dresser and then changed out of her dress in the bathroom. When she returned to her room, Peeta was already under the covers, fast asleep. She set the alarm for him and then joined him in bed, keeping a good distance between them.

* * *

"Katniss…Katniss, wake up." those were the words that Katniss heard from Peeta as she slowly drifted out of her sleep.

"Peeta, it's 2 in the morning." she groaned as she looked over at the alarm clock.

"I need to ask you something." he said in a low voice.

"You couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"What's so important that you just had to wake me?" she asked him. Even though she couldn't see him in the darkness, she could feel a sense of hesitation. "Come, on Peeta, just say it." she said in a soothing voice.

"Katniss, what are we?" he asked her. Katniss laid there in silence. It was the question she had been dreading for a while now. "Katniss, please say something." he begged her.

"I don't know what we are." she said. To be fair, it was an honest answer. She had been struggling to figure out how she wanted Peeta Mellark to fit into her life. Without warning, she felt his lips on hers. She placed her right hand on his chest to gently push him away, but then she felt the beating of his heart. It wasn't steady as it usually was. It was racing, matching almost the same rhythm as her own.

The absence of light seemed to only heighten her senses. She felt his warm lips brush against hers, keeping away the icy air that surrounded them. She noticed the way his hand gently caressed her side as their kisses deepened and how the smell of flour lingered on his skin. Her apprehension was replaced with pleasure when she realized that she did want this. All this time she had been trying to block out what she was feeling, even though the signs had been there before.

When Peeta parted his lips from hers they laid next to each other in silence. Katniss rested her head against chest, listening as his heartbeat returned to that strong and steady beat that she was used to. She felt his arm wrap snugly around her waist while his free hand gently stroked the hair away from her face. She knew that he wouldn't be able to protect for all the horrible things that were about to come, but in this moment, he made her feel safe.

* * *

Katniss managed to wake up after only a few hours of sleep. Peeta still had another half hour before he had to wake, so she left him in her bed. Katniss grabbed a cup of tea from the kitchen and went out on the porch. Even though it was early in the morning, Katniss could tell that it was finally starting to feel like winter. She grabbed a blanket from inside and wrapped herself up before sitting in the rocking chair, sipping the warm tea.

As her mind wandered, she thought about hunting and how she might be ready to go back into the woods. Perhaps today would be the day. She mentally comprised a list of the things she would need. Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Haymitch's front door open. He was never up this early. She was astonished when he saw him escorting a woman to the porch. Katniss leaned against the railing, watching to see what he would do next. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before she was on her way. Haymitch caught her staring and made his way to her yard. He didn't bother coming up to the porch, he just stood in the grass in front of her.

"You know sweetheart, it's not nice to spy on your neighbors."

"Maybe you should take your own advice." she said bluntly. She had caught him watching her and Peeta before.

"How are things with that friend of yours." he said slyly. "I saw him waiting on your steps for you for quite a while last night."

"Everything is fine." Katniss said. Like she would ever tell Haymitch what was really going on.

"So you talked to him?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"We're just friends." Katniss said. She didn't want him knowing what had really happened between her and Peeta.

"Yeah and I'm sure that was his idea." Haymitch said as he walked away with a laugh. He didn't believe her. Katniss glared at him until he was inside his house. A few moments later, she felt Peeta's arms wrap around her.

"You should have woken me up, I would have made you breakfast." he said sweetly in her ear. He sounded so happy. Katniss turned to face him and saw him grinning from ear to ear.

"You're awfully happy." she said as she returned the smile.

"Gee, I wonder why." he said rested his forehead against hers.

"You better go. You're going to be late." she told him.

"I don't care." he said as leaned closer to her and kissed her. After a minute, Katniss gently pushed him away for her.

"I don't want to get you in trouble." she said. The last thing she wanted was for his mother to hurt him.

"Can I come by later?" he asked her.

"Sure, I'm going hunting by I'll be back by the evening." she told him.

"I'll see you then." he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek before leaving. Katniss went inside to get ready for her excursion. She dressed in layers just in case the temperature did decide to jump during the day. In her bag, she packed a pair of gloves, an extra pair of socks, a wool jacket, two sandwiches, a thermos of hot chocolate, and a bottle of water. Before she left, she wrote a short note to her mother so she would know where she went. She walked her usual way to the hole in the fence. She stood in front of it for a good amount of time before she forced herself under.

After Katniss retrieve her bow and quiver from their hiding spots, she jogged lightly through the forest. Before she knew it, she was at the clearing where she had usually waited for Gale. She sat down on the rock and inspected the berry bush behind her even though she knew she'd find no fruit on the branches. She wished he would appear through the trees right now. She realized she'd never see him in these woods again. She left the rock and started walking the path towards the lake. She knew it was far away and too cold to swim but she just wanted to see it.

The lake looked just as beautiful as ever. The surface looked like a glass mirror with fog swirling in streams of vapor rising towards the sky. When she got closer to the water, she noticed a thin layer of ice was starting to form. The lake never froze over completely but the edges always froze an inch or so. Katniss sat down on the dried out grass and just took in the scene. She drank from her thermos to warm her up. She sat there for an hour, thinking of all the fond memories she had of the lake with her father and Gale. Now they were both gone. She wiped a few stray tears away and then decided to head back to District 12. She had about all she could handle today. The last thing she wanted to do was to have a breakdown in the woods.

Once she was back in the woods, she looked for any game she could find. During this time of year, rabbits were the best bet. She loaded her bow and crept slowly on the forest floor. After a half hour past, she gave up. It's not like she needed the game to survive. She had plenty of food now. She put away her bow and arrow, and started her journey back. As she walked she had the weirdest feeling that she wasn't alone. She wasn't sure what could possibly be following her. Bears had to be hibernating by now. There were always the wild dogs. She remembered one time when her and Gale had to fend off a pack of 3 of them. They were vicious creatures. When she heard a twig snap behind her, she quickly spun around, drawing her weapon. Nothing was there. She slowly turned around and continued walking. She could feel her heartbeat accelerate from the scare. She really hoped it was all in her imagination. A few minutes she heard a noise again. Something was definitely there. She worked out a plan that would drive whatever it was out into the open. She quickly abandoned her original route, and quickly circled around the area. Whatever it was, she was quicker than it but she could hear it trying to catch up. She hid behind a thick tree trunk waiting for it to come into view. She raised her bow ready to shoot if necessary. Then, the target came into view; only it wasn't an animal, it was a man.

"Move and I'll shoot." she shouted as she inched her way closer to the individual. "Now turn around slowly."

She watched as the figure slowly turned around and lowered the hood on his jacket. Standing about ten feet in front of her was her best friend and hunting partner, Gale Hawthorne.

"Hey Catnip." he said with a bashful smile.

"Stay where you are." she said still holding up her bow. How could he be here? He died in the arena…unless this was some sort of Capitol trick. At first she thought he might be a hologram but he looked too real. Then she thought he might be a clone. She had heard rumors that the Capitol had learned how to clone humans before.

"Katniss, you wouldn't really shoot me, would you?" he asked her as he slowly walked towards her. This made her think even more that he was a clone.

"I said stay where you are!" she shouted as she drew back the arrow. The smile disappeared from his face and his brow furrowed. "You died the arena, how are you here?"

"Put the bow down and I'll tell you."

"We buried you in the ground! I was there…I saw it!" she screamed at him.

"Did you even bother opening up the casket?" Gale asked her. His statement made her feel foolish. Of course they didn't. For all she knew, the coffin could have been filled with rocks. She still didn't know if she could trust him.

"But how did you survive the arena in the first place? They tracked all our vitals in there, you can't fake that."

"I tricked them." he said with a sly smile. "You saw how I died. Think about it."

"I couldn't watch it." she admitted. She knew this made her look weak but at this point she didn't care. He gave her a sympathetic look but it didn't matter. She wouldn't let her guard down. "Ok, let's say you did make it out of the arena _and_ the Capitol. What I want to know is why your face isn't plastered on every street corner in Panem?" she asked him. Surely the Capitol had to be out looking for him. He started to laugh which annoyed her.

"You really think they would admit to the entire country that they lost one the tributes that died in the Games…that I outsmarted them? Do you know what havoc that would cause?" he told her. Everything he said still sounded plausible. "Will you put down the bow now? I really don't like having that thing pointed straight at me."

Katniss tried to think of a way to test him. If he were a clone, he'd only have the memories that the Capitol knew about the two of them.

"Proved to me that you are you."

"What?" he asked confused. "Of course I am me. Who else would I be?"

"How do I know you aren't some Capitol clone."

"Gosh, Katniss, you really don't believe that crap, do you?"

"Just tell me something that only we know about each other."

"It's pretty hard to think when you have an arrow aimed right at your heart."

"Ok, answer this and I won't kill you: What was the first thing you ever said to me?" He didn't even have to think about the answer.

"I said, 'That's dangerous.' after I caught you trying to steal the game from one of my snares." he said. _It is him._

"Will you ever believe that I wasn't stealing that squirrel." she asked rolling her eyes.

"It was a rabbit and no I won't ever think otherwise." he said. _It is definitely him_. "So did I pass?" he asked. Katniss nodded her head as put away her weapon. When Gale saw the bow out her hand, he advanced to her and wrapped her in an embrace. Katniss could feel the tears pouring from her eyes and she let out a few cries. Actually touching him, and feeling the warmth of his body confirmed the fact that he was not dead, that he was really here.

"Katniss, it's ok. Everything is ok now." he told as he rubbed her back. "Come on, let's go back to the cabin and I'll tell you everything."

* * *

**Yay Gale is alive! I know some of you predicted that...was anyone surprised? I know all of you on Team Gale are probably overjoyed right about now. ;) Next chapter, you'll find out how Gale managed to escape death in the Games, and there will be more Galeniss in the chapters to come.**

**Also, just wanted to let you know that Gale is NOT a Capitol clone...it really is him. Also, I promise I will not kill Gale again. :)**

**Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the reviews! Thanks! :)**


	11. The Explanation

**I am so happy that you are happy that Gale is back! I am excited to have him back as well and to write some more Galeniss scenes. This chapter is shorter but at least you will know what happened to Gale at the end of The Hunger Games. I plan to post the next chapter tomorrow (need to finish writing it!) Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 11

Gale and Katniss quickly made their way to the cabin by the lake, eager to catch up on everything they missed in each other lives. They sat on a small cot that laid on the ground next to a wall.

"You have a beard." Katniss said in amazement as she touched the rough whiskers.

"A razor is hard to come by in the wilderness. Do you like it?" he asked her. She scrunched up and shook her head. "I didn't think so." he said with a laugh.

Up until this point, Katniss hadn't taken in his full appearance. She was too wrapped up with the fact that he was still alive. He was thinner than she had ever seen him before. She also noticed that he was still wearing the same clothes that she had last saw him in the arena, only they were more tattered than before. She couldn't imagine how cold he must have been the past month. She took off her father's hunter jacket and wrapped it around his shoulders.

"No Katniss, you need it." he said to her.

"I have another one." she said as she retrieved the wool jacket from her bag and put it on. Once he saw that, he slipped his arms through the sleeves and zipped up the front. "Here, eat these." she said as she passed him the sandwiches.

"You have one." he said handing her back one.

"No I'm fine. You need it more. It looks like you haven't eaten in weeks." she said to him.

"Three days." he corrected her. She still wouldn't take it from him. She watched as he quickly devoured the meal. She let him finish the hot chocolate as well.

"So how did you manage to trick all of Panem?" she asked him.

"It was the nightlock berries." he said with a smirk.

"But they're deadly, Gale. My father said—"

"—Let me finish." he told her, trying to get her to calm down. "When were in Training, after Haymitch split us up, I spent a lot of time at Edible Plants station. I think the trainer was happy just to have someone show up to her station for once. I asked her about nightlock. I told her that one of the Career tributes told me it was perfectly fine to consume, which sent her off on a tirade about how deadly it is. I told her I didn't believe her and the she went into detail about all the research she had personally done. Finally, I asked her if there was ever an instance where it wasn't deadly, and that's when everything came into place. She told me a common misconception is that it is the juice of the berries that actually does you in. What really kills you are these tiny seeds in the middle of the fruit. Then, she told me that the juice can act as a paralytic. It stops every muscle in your body from moving, including your heart." he said with a smile.

"But you don't die."

"No, it just looks that way. If you look carefully at the footage you will notice that I don't actually eat the berries. I squeeze the juice in my mouth and then pretended that I had eaten the berries as well. After they removed me from the arena, they cut out my tracker, stitched me up, and presumed I was dead."

"How did you manage to get out of the Capitol?" she asked.

"That was the tricky part. I came to in the morgue in one of those horrible metal slabs in the wall. When all the lights were out, I managed to unlock the door from the inside and get myself out. The only clothes I could find were from the arena and then I put on a lab coat that hung by the door. I managed to sneak out of the Training Center. Then I ditched the coat and made a run for it. There weren't too many people out of the street and the ones that were out were too drunk to notice me. I headed for the mountains and slowly made my way back to here."

"How did you survive without any tools?" she asked him. Even though he did well in the forest outside District 12, he had proper hunting tools to get by.

"I made my own tools. A made a knife from a sliver of rock I found and I used some vines to set up some snares. I knew how to make a fire from our training so that that helped."

Katniss couldn't help from yawning as he told her about his journey back from the Capitol. She was only running on 4 hours of sleep. She did her best to pay attention.

"I'm sorry, am I boring you?" he teased.

"No, I really want to hear this. I'm just really tired. I didn't get that much sleep last night."

"Nightmares?" he asked.

"No, it was the Harvest Festival last night so I was up pretty late. I was the guest of honor after all."

"Then you should lay down." he said.

"Only if you stay here with me."

"I think I can do that." he said with a smile as he laid back on the cot. Katniss snuggled up next to him, and closed her eyes. She felt so happy to have him back.

* * *

Katniss woke up to a dimly lit room. She had overslept. She collected her things and sat next to Gale, who was still asleep. She didn't want to wake him but she couldn't leave without saying goodbye.

"Gale…wake up."

"What time is it?" he asked as sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Later than I'd like it to be. I have to get back."

"No." he said as he stroked her cheek. His eyes pleaded for her not to go. "Katniss, please, I've been alone for far too long."

"I can't. You know how worried Prim would be." she said looking down. She hated to leave him this way. She knew she was the first human interaction he had in the past 6 months. She looked back up to those gray eyes peering at her. "It's not like I want to leave you." she said.

"So don't. Prim's old enough to take care of herself. You need to stop coddling her."

"I have to go." she said standing up. She walked out without looking back and started to walk away from the lake. She couldn't believe she just did that, but she really had to get back to her house. She thought that of all people, he would understand why she had to go.

"Katniss, wait!" Gale shouted as she ran to catch up to her. She stopped and turned around to face him.

"Make it quick, Gale." she said.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that."

"You of all people know how Prim can get."

"I know. Please don't be mad at me."

"Do you know how hard it is for me to leave you out here by yourself? To know that you will never be able to walk back into District 12 ever again?" she said as her voice wavered.

"Katniss I'm sorry." he said taking her into his arms.

"Are you ok with this?"

"You know I always wanted to run away, to leave District 12." he told her. He was right. He talked about it at least a dozen times a year for as long as she had known him. He even suggested on some occasions that they should run away together. He always told her the two of them could make it.

"But are you ok with it now?"

"Does it really even matter what I think?" he asked. That sounded like a 'no'. "Come on, I'll walk you back." he said, letting go of her and taking her hand. They walked silently through the woods.

When they made it back to the edge of the forest, the moon was already high in the sky. Katniss wasn't aware of what time it was but she knew she'd get a lecture from her mother when she got home about being in the woods this late at night. She stopped Gale about 20 feet from the open area where the fence stood.

"Stay here for a minute." she said. She put her bow and quiver back in their hiding spots, then retrieved his hunting gear, and returned to him. "Take these with you."

"Thanks."

"You'll be ok tonight? It's really cold." She had noticed on their way back that the temperature had dropped to an even colder degree than the night before.

"I'll be fine." he said reassuringly.

"Here take these." she said handing him the socks from her bag. "You can use them as gloves. And here is some water." He thanked her again and put the items in his hunting bag. "I'll be back tomorrow with some more things." Her saying this brought a smile to his face. He pulled her in close to him for a hug. She could tell from the way that both of them clinged to each other that neither of them wanted to let go. He eventually broke away from her.

"You'd better go." he said quietly.

"Ok." she said with a somber expression. She swiftly ran to the fence and crawled under the loose section. She ran through the Seam and into the square, which was now deserted. The clock read 11pm. Katniss didn't stop running until she made it to her front porch. All the lights on the main floor were on, indicating that at least her mother was still awake. She let herself in and started to walk up the staircase when she heard her mother call her name from the kitchen. Now she would hear it. She might even be punished with a curfew. Not that Katniss ever stayed out late before. She made her way into the kitchen and sat down at the table across from her mother.

"I'm sorry." she said.

"I don't think I'm the one you should be apologizing to." her mother said. It took her a while to figure out what she meant.

"Peeta." she murmured. She was suppose to meet him here after he was finished working. "What time did he leave?"

"He's still here. That poor boy wanted to make sure you made it back safely from the woods."

"Where is he?" she asked.

"He's sleeping on the couch." her mother said. Katniss rose from her chair and made her way to the living room. When she reached the couch, she saw Prim sitting next to him, looking with curiosity. She reached out her hand and touched his cheek.

"Prim, let him be." Katniss said. Prim jumped at the sound of her voice. She must have not seen her standing there.

"Katniss you're back." she said as she rushed over to hug her.

"I fell asleep in the woods."

"We were so worried about you." she said.

"Don't worry, it won't happen again." Katniss told her as she rubbed Prim's back. "You should get to sleep. You have school tomorrow."

"Ok, I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Katniss leaned down and kissed her sister's cheek before sending her off to bed. She grabbed a small stool from the corner of the room and placed it on the floor next to the couch. She sat down and just stared at him.

'_Should I wake him? What would I even say to him?_' She thought about how horrible the timing was. Why couldn't he have waited one day to kiss her? If he had, she wouldn't be in this terrible mess. She couldn't tell him about Gale; he was dead to the rest of Panem. She also knew things couldn't stay the same between her and Peeta. She tried to think of ways to let him down easy but it didn't matter. Any way she ended it would hurt him. She took his hand and rested her head on the edge of the cushion. She would think of something tomorrow.

* * *

**So what did you think of Gale's escape from the arena? Also, what do you think Katniss is going to do about Peeta? Let me know in your review ;)**


	12. In the Woods

**Thanks for all of the reviews, it's always great to hear from you! I know some of you were shocked there was no Galeniss kiss. Don't worry, it's coming. ;)**

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 12

When Katniss woke up, she found Peeta gazing down at her. _Great_.

"Hey." he said before pressing his lips to her forehead. It was just another reminder of how much he cared for her. She slid slowly off the stool, onto the floor, feeling defeated. He sat beside her.

"Katniss, what's wrong?"

"I'm not ready for this." she said, not even being able to look at him. "I'm sorry." This was it. This was the end of everything between them. She felt him take her hand. She supposed this is the part where he convinces her that she's making a mistake. Instead she just heard him reply "Ok."

Katniss looked at him.

"What do you mean ok?" She never thought he would be able to let her go without a fight.

"It's ok if you need time. After all that you've been through…well, anyone would understand that." he said. Her heart sank even lower. She thought she was letting him down easily. He took it to mean that eventually, she'd let him be with her. She couldn't tell him, not right now. She decided to let him think that for the time being, until she could figure out how to say it better.

"You should go now. School's in an hour." she told him.

"Yeah you're right. What are you up to today?"

"Try to hunt some more. I couldn't find anything yesterday."

"Don't stay out too late ok?"

"I won't. I might stay in the Seam tonight."

"So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes." she replied. Maybe by then she will have figured something out. She walked him to the door. Before he left, he took her in his arms. Katniss felt her heart jump. She wasn't sure if it was because she felt so bad about what she was doing to him or if it was because she might have feelings for him. She hoped it wasn't the latter.

Once Peeta had departed, she went to her room and got ready to go into the woods. She warmed up some soup from the fridge and placed it in a thermos to keep it warm. Next, she retrieved some non-perishable food from the pantry and placed them in her bag along with a few bottles of water. Before she left, she told her mother she would be staying in the Seam for the night.

She then made her way to her old house to collect some more things for Gale. She sorted through her parents' closet, retrieving some of her father's winter clothes. She also grabbed a pair of scissors and her father's razor so Gale could get rid of that horrible beard. She also packed a heavy blanket, a pillow, a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, soap, a small pot, a cup, a bowl, utensils, matches, some rope, and first aid supplies. When she lifted her bag, it was a lot heavier than she anticipated. She knew it was going to be an even longer journey to the lake than it usually was. She slung the bag over her shoulder and made her way to the fence. She had to empty some of the bag's contents and shove them to the other side of the hole in order to get the supplies to the other side. After quickly repacking the bag, she retrieved her bow and quiver, and was on her way. By the time she reached the clearing, she was out of breath. She sat on her rock to rest until she could continue. It might take her hours before she could reach Gale.

Katniss shielded her eyes when she saw something move by the edge of the forest. A big smile spread across her face as she saw Gale emerging from the trees.

"Hey Catnip." he said sitting next to her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked happily.

"I thought I'd surprise you." he said. "What this?" he asked picking up the bag. "I'm impressed you made it this far with this. You carried this the whole way?"

"Yes."

"What did you bring me?" he asked curiously. She dug through the bag.

"Here, put these on." she said handing him pieces of clothing as she found them. He removed the jacket she gave him yesterday followed by his jacket from the arena, exposing his bare skin. Katniss covered her mouth with her hand as the shock set in. His once defined torso had been replaced by a hollowed abdomen. She then turned away, unable to look anymore. She didn't realize it was that bad.

"I'll be ok, Katniss." he told her after he saw her reaction. He quickly changed the rest of his clothes, shoving his old clothes back into the bag and put on her father's hunting jacket. He sat beside her with an arm wrapped around her. "I don't want you worrying about me."

"I always worry about you." she said.

"Come on, let's get to the lake." he said as he helped her up. They split the load so it would be easier to carry. They didn't say much on the way there, but that was usual for them. When they reached the cabin, Katniss unpacked the contents of the bags. She handed Gale the scissors, soap, and razor.

"You really don't like it, huh?" he said as he laughed.

"It's itchy." she said.

"Ok, well I guess it has to go." he said. Katniss helped him trim it first before she went to retrieve some water from the lake. He stood in front of a small mirror on the mantle of the fireplace and slowly moved the razor along his jaw. When he was finished, he grabbed the toothbrush and toothpaste to clean his teeth.

"How cold do you think the water in the lake is?" he asked her as he cleaned up.

"Cold."

"Do you think I could handle it?" he asked her.

"No Gale, you'd freeze."

"Just a quick dip to wash myself off. In case you haven't noticed, it been a while since I've bathed." he said.

"It's almost January. The water temperature is too cold." she told him. He obviously didn't feel like listening to her because he started stripping off his clothes. When he was down to his underwear, he grabbed the blanket and soap and made his way outside.

"Gale, stop!" Katniss said trying to pull him backwards. He was still too strong for her to stop, even with his decrease in weight.

"I'll be done before you know it." he said as he threw the blanket down at the edge of the lake. He took a running start before he plunged into the water. When he came up, he was gasping for air. It was probably a lot colder than he expected. Katniss stared angrily at him as he washed his body with the soap. He started with his hair and worked his way down. She noticed his shallow breathing and that he was starting to slow down a little.

"Gale, hurry up." she said with worry.

"I'm almost done." he puffed. By the time he made it out the water, he had trouble moving and collapsed to the ground. Luckily, he was still conscious. Katniss took the blanket and wrapped it around him. She somehow managed to get him inside the cabin, and let go of him as he collapsed against the cot. She propped him against the wall. Then, she started to remove her clothes until she was only in her undergarments. A large smile appear on his face as she got inside the blanket and pressed her body against his. His skin was so cold it sent chills through her body. She also noticed that his lips were slightly blue.

"You're not supposed to be enjoying this." she said as she glared at him.

"I didn't ask you to take your clothes off." he said. She rolled her eyes at him.

"It's so you don't die of hypothermia. Do you even know what that is?"

"Of course, I've seen it in the Games before."

"That was really stupid of you…what you did." she scolded him. "Do you always have to be so stubborn."

"Looks like the pot is calling the kettle black." he retorted.

"I would have listen to you if you had told me not to."

"Really? What about all the times you didn't listen to me before…times when it really mattered?"

"Really like when?"

"At least a handful of times in the arena alone."

"That was different. I was trying to save you. You just wanted to be clean."

"It doesn't matter, you still didn't listen." he said.

"Gale, let's not fight about it." she said softening her voice. The last thing she wanted to do was argue with him.

"Ok." he said as he calmed down. "I'm sorry."

"I just don't want anything bad to happen to you ever again. I already lost you once."

"And you'll never lose me again. I won't let that happen." he said lovingly. He slid his hand up her back as he pulled her closer to him. He immediately pulled away from her and she could see a look of confusion on his face. He opened the blanket and leaned forward.

"How…" he trailed off. Just like Peeta, he was surprised to find her back free of scars.

"The Capitol." was all she had to say. He wrapped the blanket back around her and pressed her closer to him. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Still cold." he said.

"You need something warm to drink." she told him as she freed herself from the covers. Katniss quickly dressed herself, then grabbed the thermos from the shelf and brought it to him. She carefully tipped it forward as he slowly drank from it. She could see the color return to his lips.

"Thanks." he said. She retrieved his clothes and helped him dress, starting with the top half of his body. She gave him the long johns and pants to put on himself but first instructed him to remove his underwear since it was sopping wet. She turned around as he did so she wouldn't see anything.

"You know you don't have to turn around." he said with a chuckle. "You know I wouldn't mind."

"Gale." she snapped at him. He knew how she felt about the topic. She waited a few minutes before turning around just to be safe, and then she joined him on the cot.

"You haven't told me what you've been up to the past few months. I want to hear all about it." he said as he turned the blanket around and wrapped it around them.

"You need to put your socks and shoes on first." she told him. She knew she was being awfully strict, but she had to make sure that he warmed up.

"How was it after you got home?" he asked.

"It was horrible. I caused a huge scene at you burial—"

"What did you do?" he asked as he cut her off. She looked down and blushed with embarrassment at the thought of her behavior that day.

"I tried to jump in your grave." she said quietly. She expected Gale to burst out laughing at such a ridiculous image. She looked up when the room remained silent and saw Gale's painful expression. "After that, everything just got worse. I couldn't get out of bed and it just hurt so much."

"How did you get through it?" he asked her. She paused before she gave her answer. Even though it was his idea to seek out Peeta, she wasn't so sure he would like it now.

"I did exactly what you said. I started talking to Peeta Mellark." she said. She left out the part that Peeta sought her out. She could see a jealous glint in his eyes that he quickly tried hide.

"Did you tell him what I told you to tell him?"

"No, it wasn't necessary."

"Well, I'm glad he could help." was all Gale could say. She could tell he didn't want to talk about it anymore. "What about that Victory Tour. How did that go?"

"President Snow wasn't thrilled by it." she said.

"What happened?"

"When I was in District 5, just as I was going to speak, the power cut out. The people started singing that rebellion song I sang in the arena and they made a Mockingjay flag that they dropped over the flag of Panem."

"That was Foxface's district, right?" Gale asked. She nodded.

"The Peacekeepers started firing into the crowd. It was horrible." she said with sorrow. "We left the district immediately."

"What else made the tour so bad?"

"Cato's brother tried to assassinate me…took a bullet to the head before he got to me."

"Careers." Gale jeered. You wouldn't see anyone in District 12 do anything like that.

"Snow said that uprisings started occurring across the districts after that little bit of the uprising from five had aired." she told him. She saw Gale grin a little. "Gale it's not good. If they don't stop, I could be in serious trouble."

"What are they going to do, kill you? That would cause even more of an uproar."

"He mentioned Prim. What if she gets reaped?" Gale's expression fell.

"They wouldn't do that, would they? Rig the reaping?"

"It's the Capitol. They can do whatever they want. It's a Quell year too so I'm sure the Games will be even worse than usual. If she gets picked, there is nothing I can do. Victors can't volunteer."

"She won't get picked." he told her.

"You said that last year."

"Because her name was only in there once. How was I to know that Effie Trinket would happen to reach in that bowl and pick it."

"Whatever happens, I'm sure President Snow will make sure that the Gamemakers will give my tributes hell in the arena."

"At least they will have a good mentor this year."

"Gale, Haymitch was good to us. That medicine saved your life. He actually cared last year."

"After a lot of convincing. He should have been like that from the start. Make sure he gives a shit this year." he told her.

"I will. You don't even know everything he did to try to help us."

"Yes I do. He sent us medicine and food. I was there for all the parachutes."

"But there was more. He tried to get us both out of there."

"He did?" Gale asked raising an eyebrow. He looked intrigued.

"He drafted a petition to get us out of there and somehow managed to get all these signature from the Capitol. He took it to Seneca Crane but of course he had no interest in what the Capitol citizens wanted."

"Whatever. Those Capitol citizens did it for their own selfish reasons. They just wanted the couple to make it out together for their own emotional wellbeing."

"They got in trouble though. It was leaked and all those people had to go to jail. Octavia had to sleep on a gym floor for a whole week because they ran out of place to put people." she said with a laugh. This made Gale smile.

"Your prep team signed it?"

"Yes, and I'm sure yours did too. Flavius said that no one in the Capitol had ever done anything like that before."

"Capitol citizens rebelling against the Capitol. I like it."

"Yeah well I'm sure Snow isn't liking it. They never rebel." she said. A though suddenly flashed in her mind, something that she had been wondering about but could not get an answer about. "Gale, what did you say in the arena before you killed yourself?"

"Pretty much every bad thought I've ever had about the Capitol." She knew that couldn't be good. When they were hunting in the woods, he would sometimes share those thoughts with her.

"Do you think they are still searching for you?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think they expect me to have made it this far."

"You should still be careful. Hovercrafts make food deliveries at the beginning of every month. Try to stay hidden and don't light a fire unless absolutely necessary."

"Ok. What is the date anyway? I kind of lost track."

"January 3rd." she told him.

"Posy's birthday." he said quietly. She took his hand. She could tell he missed his family. "I wish I could be there."

"You can't."

"Maybe you could tell them about me, so they wouldn't worry."

"Gale, no one can know you are alive. If someone found out and went to the Peacekeepers, they'd find you and ship you back to the Capitol. Who even knows what they would do to you there."

"You've been taking care of them, haven't you?"

"Yes, my mother has been taking them food, and they come to our house for dinner sometimes."

"How are they?"

"Good, I guess…I can tell they miss you though. And your brother hates me."

"Rory?" he guessed.

"He's said some pretty hurtful things."

"What kind of things?"

"He said that it was my fault you were dead and that I tricked you into letting me win by pretending to be in love with you." she said. She could see the anger in his eyes. "He's just grieving, Gale."

"He still shouldn't be saying those things."

"He's twelve, what do you expect?"

"He knows better than to talk to you like that. Don't let him get away with it again." he said.

"Ok."

"When do you have to leave today?"

"I was actually thinking about staying here tonight." she told him. His face lit up when he heard her say this.

After Gale had rested, they decided to go hunting in the woods around the lake. Gale set up some snares before they went deeper into the forest into new territory. As they made their way through the woods, they quickly fell back into their old hunting patterns. They knew exactly what the other wanted to do just by looks or gestures. An hour into their hunt, they reached a small field with a stream running through it. They decided this would be a good place to rest. They drank from the stream and stretched out on the ground. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a hovercraft appeared. Gale grabbed Katniss' hand, leading her back into the cover of the forest. Once the trees surrounded them, Gale pressed Katniss against a tree and used his body to shield her.

Katniss was too panicked to speak. Had they seen the two of them? She could feel her heart racing as the sound of the hovercraft drew near. She buried her face into his chest and closed her eyes. When it passed over them and floated into the distance, she could feel her muscles relax. It wasn't sent out for him. It was probably the parcels for District 12. She felt him release his arms from her shoulders but he still remained close to her. When she looked up at Gale, she didn't see fear or worry on his face. It was something else she couldn't decipher.

"Gale w—" she started. Her words were cut off by his mouth on hers. She gladly accepted the kiss, letting it build to an intensity she had never experienced before. It was nice not having to worry about there being cameras around to capture every second of it for the entire nation to see. It was private, just as it should be. She could hear him unzipping her jacket, unsure of what exactly it was that he was doing. She then felt his hand make its way under her shirt, gliding slowly up her waist. When his hand reached her ribcage, she gently put her hand over his, stopping him from progressing any further.

"Gale, it's cold." she said.

"Sorry." he said as he slid his hand from under her shirt. She quickly zipped her jacket.

"It's ok." she told him as she pressed her lips against his for a short kiss.

'_He bought it._' she thought. It was a good save on her part, blaming it on the temperature. It was a lie though. To be honest, she couldn't feel the cold at all now. The truth behind that statement was that fear and panic prevented her for letting him go any further. She had never been touched like that before.

They decided it was best for them to turn around and head back to the lake. They didn't want any more surprises for the day. Gale checked their snares as they reached them and found two rabbits had made their way into them. He killed the rabbits and released them from the snares before carrying them back to the cabin. Gale waited until twilight before lighting the fire inside the cabin, hoping the darkening sky would conceal the smoke of the fire. Gale and Katniss sat in front of the fire as they ate, taking in the heat before they had to extinguish the flames. They knew it was going to be another cold night.

* * *

(Gale POV)

They didn't settle into bed until late in the night. Katniss was too busy telling him more about what happened since she returned back from the Games. By the time they were actually under the covers, he was sure that it was close to 1 in the morning.

"Gale I'm still cold." she said him, even though she was clinging onto his body.

"I know." he told her, wishing there was something he could do. He rubbed his hand vigorously up and down her back, hoping that it might generate some heat.

"Mmm, that feels good." she sighed.

"Well I can't do this all night." he said with a laugh.

"I know." He continued rubbing her back for a few more minutes.

"Close your eyes and try to get some sleep." he whispered. She did as he said and she quickly fell into a slumber.

He watched her as she lay there peacefully. He couldn't help but think about their future now that he was confined to the woods. He didn't even know how long this might last. Could he really expect her to come out here everyday? And what if, for some reason, the fence started having power once again. He didn't want her to be trapped on either side of it. As nice as it would be to have her with him all the time, he knew that was impossible. Now that she was a victor, she had responsibilities to the Capitol. Failure for her to show up could put her family in danger.

He was also unsure about where their relationship would lead. He knew that they wanted very different things. She didn't want to be married or have children the last time they talked about it. He wondered if that had changed since their relationship began. Even though he was only 18, he knew what he wanted. He wanted to be with her forever. He wanted to have a family with her. He thought that life in District 12 might not be so bad if he could have those things with her…not that he would ever find out. He could never go back.

With the way his life was now, he knew he could never have that, even she wanted it as well. He closed his eyes, holding back the tears, hoping that something good would come along and change all of this.

The next time Gale opened his eyes, it was daytime. He woke up to an empty bed. He quickly went outside, hoping that Katniss was still there. He saw her sitting by the lake.

"I thought you had gone." he said as sat next to her.

"I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye." she said as she cuddled next to him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I do have to leave soon."

"No, not yet."

"I need to get back, it's already close to 2."

"I slept that long?" he said with disappointment.

"I'll be back tomorrow. I'm sure you can survive a day without me." she said lightly.

"I'm not so sure I can." he admitted. He could see a look of concern appear on her face. She knelt in front of him and took his face in her hands before she kissed him.

"You can do this. You are strong." she told him. He wanted to believe her but he knew there was huge difference between physical strength and emotional strength. He shook his head. "Gale, everything will be ok. We'll figure something out, I promise." she whispered.

He wrapped his hand behind her neck and pulled her towards him for one more kiss. Katniss leaned forward, causing him to fall back to the ground with her landing on top of him. He quickly rolled her around so that he was hovering above her as he continued to kiss her. His lips parted hers as he moved down to her neck, starting with a few, short kisses. He then drew out the kisses, as he gently sucked on her skin between each one. He could hear heavy breaths escape from her, followed by a light moan, letting him know that she was enjoying it. He brushed his lips against hers one more time. As much as he wanted to continue, he knew there wasn't enough time and he didn't want her pushing him away again. Gale pulled his face away from her as he took her in. Her cheeks were now flushed and he could see her chest rising and falling as she tried to get breathing back to normal.

"You should probably go now. I wouldn't want for you to be late again." he said. He stood and helped her up

"Yeah, you're right."

"Do you want me to walk you back?"

"No, I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow." she said. Gale kissed her one last time, after she collected her hunting gear from the house. He watched her as she made her into the woods towards home.

* * *

**So you got not one but TWO Galeniss kisses this chapter. What did you think?**

**Sorry things got a little depressing during Gale's POV, but I really think that he would be thinking those things.**


	13. Visiting Gale

**Hello! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. It was rainy here and I had lots of schoolwork, but I did manage to write another chapter!**

**KnightFlash 117...of course I read the reviews people leave me. I usually write back to people with accounts too. Unfortunately, I cannot do that for people with Guest accounts :/ As for your requests, you'll just have to keep reading to find out if they will happen ;)**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 13

The weeks went by quickly for Katniss. She spent most of her days in the woods visiting Gale and bringing him supplies. She hadn't spent much time with Peeta in the recent weeks. She tried hanging out with him in the beginning but that quickly stopped. She could tell he was having a hard time going back to being just friends and it was painful to watch. The only time they saw each other was when she would stop by the bakery for some bread. Those moments were so awkward for her. He tried to play it off like he was fine, but his eyes said it all. The way he looked at her was heartbreaking.

As January turned into February, the weather felt more like winter in District 12. They recently had a snowstorm that prevented Katniss from visiting Gale for four days. She gathered more clothes and blankets to bring him. She was sure he was going to be cold. She also brought a large thermos of soup and some other foods to enjoy.

She had to dig the snow out from the hole under the fence before she could make her way to the other side. After she grabbed her bow and quiver, Katniss quickly made her way into the woods. She had to slow down halfway because she started sliding down the icy slopes of the forest, falling once. She reached the lake, which now had a thin layer of snow covered ice. She opened the door to the cabin and found Gale lying on the cot. Katniss was surprised by how drafty it was inside the cabin but then realized it was from a lack of glass in the windowpanes.

"Katniss…is that you?" Gale said coughing as he turned around.

"Gale, are you ok?" she asked dropping everything and rushing to his side. She felt his forehead with the back of her hand. "You're burning up."

"I'll be fine." he said letting out an even worse cough. Now she was worried about him.

"How long have you been like this?"

"Can we talk later? I'm tired." he said closing his eyes.

"Gale, I need to know this." she pleaded with him.

"Two days…or maybe three." he said in response.

"I'll be right back." she told him. She took the bowl from the shelf and collected some water from the lake after punching a hole through the ice. When she returned, she grabbed a rag from her bag and sat down beside him. She dipped the cloth into the water and slowly wiped the sweat off his face. She could hear him sigh with relief. "Have you been drinking any water?"

"No, I couldn't get out of bed." he told her. She retrieved a bottle of water and returned to him. She struggled to prop him up against the wall behind him, even with his help. That couldn't be good. Katniss brought the bottle to his lips as he slowly sipped it.

"I should have made it out here sooner." she said, blaming herself.

"I'm glad you didn't. You'd probably be sick too." he told her. She made him finish the whole water bottle. Then, she made him take off the leather jacket so the heat could escape from his skin. She found his shirt to already be soaked with sweat, so she helped him change into a dry one.

"Katniss, I'm cold."

"It's the fever. Once your temperature comes down, you will be fine." she told him. What she didn't tell him was that she was afraid that it might not happen without some medicine. Unfortunately, the medicine was at her house in Victor's Village. It never crossed her mind to bring some just in case. She helped him lay down and pulled the covers over him, telling him to rest. She sat beside the bed, leaning against the wall, and monitored him throughout the day. He slept for most of it, looming in and out of consciousness. His fever still didn't seem to break in the early evening.

"Katniss." he said barely audible.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked gently as she laid next to him, leaning on her side.

"Remember that time I had a fever in the arena. You took care of me. You always take care of me." he said with a faint smile.

"Yes, always." she said managing to smile through her worried expression.

"And you kissed me…in the cavern, and…it felt so…good. I couldn't believe it was real. That you could ever want…it just made me…" he trailed off. She could tell he was delirious, the way he was trying to piece together the story.

"You're not making sense." she told me.

"I'm making perfect sense."

"You need medicine, for the fever."

"Do you have any?" he asked her.

"Back in District 12." she said looking at the door.

"Katniss, don't leave me."

"I'll come back straight away. I'll be gone 2 hours, tops."

"I'll be fine. I'm sure the fever will break by morning."

"Says the person who has no medical experience. I know I don't know as much as my mother, but I know your condition is serious right now. We need to get your fever down."

"You shouldn't be in the woods by yourself. Not after dark."

"I'll be fine, Gale. If you should be worried about anyone, it's yourself." It's not like she wanted to leave him in this state. She brought her lips to his cheek and kissed him gently.

"No, Katniss…no." he said grabbing her wrist. He looked so frightened.

"I have to."

"Wait 'til morning. If I'm still bad, I'll let you go." he pleaded with her. She knew she couldn't leave him, at least while he was still awake.

"I'll stay if you promise to listen to everything I tell you." she told him. He agreed. First, she made him eat some of the soup she brought and then told him it was time for bed. She laid next to him and closed her eyes to appear as if she was sleeping. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes to find him fast asleep. She gathered her things and quietly made her way into the night.

* * *

About four hours passed between the time she left the cabin and the time she returned. The snow made it take longer to get back. Gale hadn't moved from the position she left him in. She knew she had to get the fever-reducing pill into his body so she was forced to wake him.

"Gale, wake up." she whispered as she gently stroked his hair.

"What…where am I?" he asked as he suddenly woke from his slumber.

"You're in the cabin. Look what I found when I was searching though my bag." she said holding up the small pill between her fingers.

"You left me?" he said hurt.

"No, I found some in my bag."

"Don't lie to me Katniss. Just because I feel like shit doesn't mean I'll believe everything you tell me."

"Gale, take it." she demanded. He grabbed the pill from her hand and placed it in his mouth, all the while glaring at her. She tipped the water bottle to his lips and he swallowed the pill.

"I can't believe you left me." he said annoyed.

"I had to."

"You never listen."

"I just trudged through the forest for four hours to get you that. You'd think you'd be grateful."

"Four hours?" he said.

"Yes, because I love you and I don't want to see you like this." she said, wound up.

"You love me." he said with a hazy smile. Those words seemed to calm him down.

"Yes, of course I do...you know I do."

"It's nice to hear you say it. You look tired, Katniss. Let's get some sleep." he said patting the mattress. She laid down with her back to him, and put her arm under her head. She felt him lie closer to her and he put his arm around her. Her eyelids quickly shut and she was pulled into a deep sleep.

When Katniss woke up, the sun was bright in the sky, illuminating the whole cabin. She turned around to see Gale leaning against the wall, looking out the window.

"Gale, what time is it?" she asked still in a daze.

"Sometime after noon. I'm not really sure."

"I'll have to bring a clock next time." she said. Katniss noticed that Gale's health had improved overnight. She put her hand to his head and the fever was gone. He still looked under the weather but at least he could sit up by himself. She also noticed his clothes were covered in sweat. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"Don't make me jump in the lake again." he said.

"I didn't _make_ you jump in the lake. You did that all by yourself. Just wait here, I'll be right back." She took the bowl out to the lake and filled it with water. When she returned, she helped peel the shirt off his skin. She took the rag, dipped it in the water and swept it across his chest.

"Ah, it's cold." he said.

"It will have to do. We can't warm it up." she said. She moved the cloth down his chest to his abdomen. She was happy to see that he was up from his original weight before the Games. He no longer looked emaciated like he was when he returned from the Capitol. He had even built back some of the muscle he had from his time in the Games. When she had finished cleaning his upper body, she got him a clean long sleeve shirt from the pile of clothes she had accrued from her house. She could see that he was sliding both layers of pants off from under the blankets. Relief spread through her when he covered himself up before removing the blanket. She started cleaning his right leg, stopping at the small scar that remained around his calf from the trap. She traced it with her index finger.

"I had never been so afraid in my life." she said out loud, for no reason.

"Well you sure didn't show it." he said to her.

"I couldn't let you think that you might not make it through it."

"Was it really that bad?" he asked.

"Yes it was." she said looking towards him. She saw a smile form on his face, which confused her since the topic wasn't a happy one. "Why are you smiling?"

"It funny how your worst memory is one of the best for me. That night when you kissed me, it changed everything for me. It finally gave me something to live for…to try to make it out of there with you. I really was going to die for you. If it weren't for that kiss, we wouldn't be where we are today."

"Do you ever think it would have happened, even if we weren't in the Games?" she asked him as she resumed washing him.

"No, I don't."

"Why not?" she asked him.

"Because we both knew that we needed each other to survive in District 12. Why do you think I kept it a secret for so long?"

"It still could have happened, if the right moment came along." He shook his head in disagreement. "Here, I'll let you finish up." she said handing him the rag and the bowl. She sorted through the clothes for something to dress his lower half. She returned with a pair of underwear, sweatpants, and socks. She quickly turned around as he tossed the old clothes to the side. She went to the window and looked outside. She could see the sun was already starting to descend in the sky. She was surprised when she felt his arms wrap around her.

"Katniss, does your family know you're out here?" he asked concerned.

"No, I didn't even tell them I was staying in the Seam."

"Then you have to go."

"No you need me." she said turning to face him.

"I'm out of danger now. They probably think something bad happened to you."

"Your fever could spike during the night. It usually does that."

"Did you bring any more of those pills?"

"Yes."

"I'll make sure I take one before bed. I'll see you in the morning." he said. A look of uncertainty spread across her face.

"I'll probably be grounded for staying out. It might be a week before I can make it out here again."

"I'll be fine, I know what to do now. And I have enough food to get by."

"I just can't win with you can I?" she sighed.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"When I need to go, you beg me to stay and when I am willing to stay, you tell me I should go. It's very confusing." she said wrapping her arms around the back of his neck.

"I wish I could kiss you but I don't want to get you sick." he said.

"Kiss my forehead. I like when you do that." she told him. "It's endearing."

Gale leaned towards her, putting his lips to the center of her forehead. He then pulled her closer for an embrace.

"Take it easy, ok? You need to rest." she told him.

"I promise." he said. She handed him the bottle pills and a water bottle before she left and gave him some other instructions for him to follow before leaving him.

As Katniss made her way back, she saw a squirrel scurrying on the snowy ground. It had been a long time since she'd seen one and she wasn't about to let this one get away. For some reason, she knew she had to hunt it. It must have heard her draw an arrow from her sheath because it picked up its pace. Katniss chased it until she was close enough to hit it. In her desperation, she didn't hit it square in the eye as she usually did. It didn't really matter though. She retrieved the squirrel and removed the arrow before continuing to the fence.

She cut through the Seam and headed into town until she was standing on the back porch of the Mellark house. She knocked three times and waited in the dark, hoping that Peeta would answer. The door opened and she saw Peeta standing there in the darkness. She could see a smile appear on his face briefly, until he looked down to the squirrel in her hand.

"I thought your father might like this." she said holding it out to him.

"Just leave it on the porch." he said to her. She could tell he was keeping his distance for a reason. Maybe it was because he was upset with her because she didn't visit him anymore. She walked closer to him to put it in his hands. That's when she saw his real reason. She could see the black eye he had been trying to hide. She grabbed his hand, pulling him outside and then shut the door.

"What happened?" she asked him, clearly upset.

"I think it's pretty self-explanatory."

"But why? What made her do this?"

"Does it even matter?" he said. It seemed that he had already built a wall up, not wanting to let Katniss in. She didn't blame him. They weren't exactly friends anymore. Katniss wrapped her arms around his torso, wanting to comfort him. Instead, she felt his whole body become rigid. She didn't let go though. She rested her head again his chest and breathed in the smell of flour that she always would associate with him. She waited for him to return the embrace but he just stood there. She slowly backed a step away from him, took his hand, and led him to the stairs.

"It not fair…what she does to you." she said quietly.

"It doesn't happen that often."

"It shouldn't happen at all." she told him. There was a silence between them as both of them thought of something to say next. "Why is it always you? I never see your brothers with bruises or black eyes."

"I guess I'm an easy target."

"It wouldn't be wrong if you defended yourself."

"You're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?" he asked with worry. If she did, he would be sent to live in a group home for the next year and half. As much as she hated what his mother did to him, she knew that would be worse.

"No, I'm not. But you need to stop this from happening, because one day, it's not just going to be a black eye. It will be a broken arm…or worse."

"She'd never hurt me that bad."

"Peeta, you don't know that. I've seen things like this happen before in the Seam. If that happened to you…"

"Why do you even care?" he asked her.

"I care about you." she admitted.

"Whatever Katniss, the only reason you are even here is to deliver a squirrel to my father."

"I shot that squirrel so I'd have an excuse to see you." she blurted out. She didn't mean to say that out loud, but it was the truth. She closed her eyes, silently cursing herself for admitting that to him. She felt his lips touch hers, as he began to gently kiss her. She could feel a flutter in her chest, something she didn't think she could feel for him now that Gale was back in the picture. Katniss slowly pulled away from him. "I'm not ready yet…for this."

"How much longer do you need?" he asked her quietly.

"I don't know. I wish it didn't have to be like this." she said.

"If you'd just give me a chance, I'm sure we could make this work."

"It just hurts too much." she lied. It would be so much easier if she could just tell him about Gale, but she had no clue what he would do with that information. He already punched Gale in the face after he volunteered for him at the Reaping. Who knows what Peeta Mellark would do if he knew that Gale was hiding in the forest outside of District 12.

"He's not coming back, Katniss." he said. "I know it's a hard realization but the sooner you deal with that, the sooner you can move on." he said matter-of-factly.

'_But he is back. That's the problem._' she thought to herself. She knew this was the end of it with Peeta Mellark; that they would never be able to spend time together. He wanted so much more from her. More than she could give him. It wouldn't be fair to string him along for her own selfish reasons.

"I should go." she said before she made her way down the steps.

"Katniss, wait." he said following her. "I didn't mean to sound insensitive back there."

"No it's fine. I know what you meant. I really do need to get home though. I fell asleep in the woods last night. My family is probably worried."

"You've been hunting a lot, haven't you?"

"Almost everyday." she told him.

"Maybe that the problem…I'm sure it reminds you of him." he told her.

"It's the only thing I can do to pass the time."

"You could spend time with me."

"You are in school."

"I guess you are right. I'll see you around, Katniss." he said before turning around and heading inside.

Katniss made her way through town feeling worse than ever. She never should have taken that squirrel to the Mellark house. When she opened the door, Prim rushed to her side.

"Katniss!" she shouted with relief.

"Where's mom?" she asked her sister.

"In the kitchen. She's making dinner." Prim told her.

Katniss made her way into the kitchen, just wanting to get this over with.

"Katniss Everdeen, where on earth have you been?" she scolded her.

"The woods. I fell asleep in the cabin by the lake…the one dad used to take me to."

"You can't keep doing this."

"It was an accident. I fell asleep."

"I let it go the first time, because I didn't think it would happen again. You're not going hunting for the rest of the week."

"Fine." she said storming out of the kitchen. She expected her to do this much but she had to let her mother know she was displeased about the situation. She went straight to her room and remained there for the rest of the night.

* * *

**Poor Gale and Peeta...not a good chapter for either of them. Things will get better though. As always, reviews/comments are always appreciated!**


	14. The Discovery

**Here it is...another update! This semester is going to be intense (I feel like I'm already drowning in schoolwork!) I'll try to update twice a week but I can't make any promises...it will be once a week at the least. **

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games of any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 14

The next days were difficult for Katniss. Her mother kept a close watch on her, not letting her leave the house. She spent most of her day sitting on the wide window ledge, wondering if Gale was ok. On the plus side, now that she was home, she could spend more time with Prim. She felt like she had been ignoring her ever since Gale came back into her life. It wasn't intentional but she couldn't help that her boyfriend had come back from the dead.

By Thursday evening, she grew antsy from being inside all week long. She managed to get her mother's permission to spend the night in the Seam as long as she dropped off a basket of food to the Hawthorne's on the way and if she promised not to venture into the woods.

When she reached the Hawthorne's house, she was in for a chilling surprise. The front door was ajar and all the lights were off. She carefully made her way inside, nervous about what she might find. She turned on the lights to find the whole house in a disheveled state.

"Hazelle…Rory…Vick…Posy?" she called out as steadily as she could. Whatever had happened to them, she could tell there had been a struggle. A pot of food had dropped onto the floor and a few chairs were overturned. On the table, she found a warrant sign by the Head Peacekeeper. Her heart jumped out of her chest when she realized that they were being held in custody by the Peacekeepers. She immediate dropped the basket, and ran straight to the Justice Building. She had to make sure they were safe. As she sprinted, her mind raced, as she thought of a reason why the Peacekeepers would arrest them. They couldn't have broken any laws. Maybe Snow planned on doing something to them to punish them for Gale's escape. She quickly scaled the steps to the building and made her way inside the lobby to the front desk.

"Where are they?" she shouted to the guard on duty.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to be more specific." the Peacekeeper in a lackluster way.

"The Hawthornes. What did you do with them?"

"They are in a holding cell."

"Why are they here?"

"I'm afraid I can't divulge that information. It's confidential." he said as he resumed reading his paper.

"I need to see them." she said, as the anger started showing through.

"Visiting hours are over. You will have to come back tomorrow." he said not breaking his stare at the paper.

"I'll see them right now!" she said as she slammed her hand on the paper, causing it to tear down the middle. She felt someone restrain her before leading her outside into the night. She tried to resist but she was overpowered. She wasn't sure who it was until she turned around. It was Darius, the only decent Peacekeeper in District 12.

"That was quite a scene you caused."

"Why do they have the Hawthornes?" she demanded him. She saw him look around.

"Here, I'll walk you home." he said. When they were a safe distance away from the square, he started talking.

"Someone saw Gale Hawthorne in the Seam last night." he said in a low voice.

"He can't be…he's dead." she said. "Who saw him?"

"His neighbors."

"How do you know the person isn't lying to you?"

"Because we have two separate eyewitnesses."

"Darius, this is ridiculous, he's buried in the graveyard in the Seam. How can he possibly be alive?"

He looked at her apprehensively, like he knew something she didn't. Could he possibly know Gale was alive? He leaned in closer to her and lowered her voice.

"I shouldn't be telling you this but if anyone should know, it's you. We got a report from the Capitol a few months ago telling us that he escaped from the morgue in the Training Center; that he didn't really die in the arena. Each district has been keeping an eye out for him. No one knows where he is."

"No, that's impossible." she said shaking her head in disbelief. She only hoped her acting skills would come off as genuine.

"It's true."

"What would they want with the Hawthornes, then?"

"We plan on interrogating them tomorrow to see what they know."

"You really think he could make it all that way?" she asked, looking up at him.

"If there's anyone who could do it, you know it's him." Darius said. She nodded her head in agreement. "Meet me in the lobby tomorrow at noon. I'll make sure you get to see them."

"Thank you." she said to him. She stood on her front porch until Darius was out of sight, but she didn't enter her house. Instead, she ran for the fence. She knew she promised her mother that she wouldn't go into the woods, but she needed answers. Once she was outside the fence, she gathered her hunting supplies and ran off into the woods. It was much easier to maneuver through the forest now that the snow had melted. A mixture of emotions ran through her as she raced through the forest: anger that he didn't listen to her, sorrow for what this meant for them, and fear for what they would do to him. She quickly weaved through the trees until she reached her destination. She took a deep breath as she turned the knob to open the door to the cabin, dreading to have this conversation.

* * *

(Gale POV)

Just as Gale was readying himself to go to sleep, he saw Katniss burst through the door to his dwelling.

"Katniss." he said as he ran up to her and took her in his arms. He felt her forcefully shove him away from her causing his back to plow into the stone wall behind him. He could see the hurt in her eyes.

"What have you done, Gale?" she questioned him. He wasn't sure what was going on, or why she would come this late at night to see him.

"Katniss what are you talking about?"

"I told you to stay out of District 12, and _not_ to visit them." _Oh…that._

"I couldn't take it anymore, being away from my family. I needed to see them." He watched her breakdown into tears in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back.

"What's wrong, Katniss?"

"Someone in the Seam. They saw you."

"No, I was careful. They couldn't have."

"It was more than one person. They told the Peacekeepers they saw you leaving your house."

"It will be fine. If they start to search the woods, I'll just flee to somewhere else, maybe to another district until things calm down."

"Gale, they have your family." she cried. He felt his heart sink down to the pit of his stomach.

"What are they doing with them?"

"They are going to interrogate them tomorrow." she told him. He knew that wasn't good, especially if they planned on talking with Posy. She wouldn't know what was going on and would tell them that he was alive and hiding in the woods.

"I guess there's only one thing to do." he said, his heart starting to ache. Katniss looked up at him with worry about what he would say next. "I have to turn myself in."

"No, Gale, you can't!" she said clinging onto him.

"It's the only way I can keep them safe. Plus I brought this on myself, now I have to pay for the consequences."

"If you walk into that building, you are as good as dead."

"I know." he said. He could feel his heart begin to race even more as he thought about the future. Why didn't he just listen to her? He wouldn't be in this mess. His future looked even bleaker than before. Now he'd have to face Snow and the Capitol once again. He knew they would be unforgiving for everything he'd done. They'd execute him; maybe even televise it to show to everyone what happens to those who don't obey. Of course then they would have to admit that they messed up by declaring him dead in the arena, even though he wasn't. Perhaps they would lock him away in the Capitol for the rest of his life, running experiments or torturing him whenever they saw fit. He shuddered at the thought of that. He'd take death over that any day.

His mind came back to Katniss, who was now beginning to hyperventilate. He took her to the cot and sat her on his lap.

"Katniss, calm down. I know it's hard to deal with this, but this is how it has to be."

"I can't have you go away, not again." she said as she cried into his shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'll get through it, just like before."

"No I can't. I don't want to. I just want you." she said looking down.

It was so painful, seeing her so upset about him. He placed a finger under her chin, raising it up so that her eyes met his. He searched for something to say but nothing came to mind. There were no words to match what he was feeling right now. Instead he leaned towards her until his mouth was covering hers. She let out a whimper as he continued to move his lips against hers. She was obviously still upset. Tears flowed down her cheeks and he brushed them away as he took a hold of her face. He slid back on the cot, his lips not breaking from hers as he laid back with her body pressed to the side of him. Gale could feel her deepen the kisses and she eventually slid her tongue in his mouth. He never wanted her more than he did right now. He unbuttoned the top of his pants and then worked on zipper. He took her hand that was now resting on his chest, and slowed guided it down the front of him. He was taken back when she pulled her hand away, just as she reached the band around his underwear.

"No Gale, we can't." she said. She must have known where all of this would lead.

"Why not?" he asked her softly.

"Because I don't want to get pregnant!" she said with panic. He watched her sit up and bring her knees into her chest. He sat up as well.

"There are ways around that." he whispered into her ear.

"I can't risk it."

"Even if you did, what's the worst that could happen?" he asked. The way she looked at him, he could tell she had already thought about it.

"If that happened and Snow found out, you know what he would do." She must have seen that he wasn't following where this going because she added, "They would take it away from me."

"No Katniss, they couldn't."

"They can do whatever they want Gale. You know they can and there would be nothing I could do to stop it."

After she said that, he realized that it really was a possibility, especially if Snow found out the child was also his. He'd probably do something really sadistic, like raise the child as his own. His body cringed at the thought of it. He couldn't allow for that to happen.

He hated that Katniss thought this way, that the Capitol made her think these things. She shouldn't have to worry about how the Capitol could take away all the happiness from her life, even though they often did that to victors who didn't comply with their wishes.

"I'm going to go outside for a little. I need to cool off." he said getting up and fastening his pants. The cold winter wind hit his skin, with the sharpness of a knife. It didn't bother him though; he was too numb from the pain. He sat against a tree trunk and took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling as he thought about how screwed up his life was. Gale didn't want to leave her, but he knew he had to turn himself in. He couldn't do that to his family and the Peacekeepers would find him eventually. He wished he could run away with her into the woods, never looking back. Not that that could ever happened.

If only he had never volunteered in the first place. He was sure she could have made it out of the Games without him having to help her. Then they could be together, the way he always dreamed they would. After a few minutes he returned inside to find Katniss asleep on the cot. He joined her in bed, but didn't close his eyes. Watching her lying there was more than he could take. She looked so beautiful and he loved her so much. He could feel the tears building up in his eyes, falling onto his skin as he rapidly blinked his eyes. He kissed her cheek, then her forehead. He heard a horrible sounding gasp leave his mouth as choked on his breath. He wrapped his now shaking arms around her. The reverberations of his body were enough to wake her.

"Gale." she said softly, brush the tears away with her fingertips. He wished she didn't have to see him cry. He wanted to remain strong for her. It had been so long since he last cried, not since his father died. The emotions of the past year had taken its toll, causing him to break.

"I love you so much." he told her.

"I know, I love you too." she said brushing her fingers through his hair.

"There are so many things I wanted for us. I wanted to marry you and have kids even though I know you don't want them…or didn't want them. Do you…?" he asked trailing off. She opened her mouth to speak but he covered it with his index finger. "No, I don't want to know. It doesn't matter anyway." he said.

"Gale, do you remember the time when time when you sat on an anthill?" she asked as she smiled at him.

"Yeah, so?" he asked. He did remember. It happened shortly after they had met each other in the woods. She had just turned 12 and he was 14. One day when they stopped to take a rest, Gale sat down on the ground unaware that a huge anthill was just below him. He quickly jumped up, moving his body, trying to get the ants off of him as he freaked out. He didn't see how that was relevant. Then he realized why she mentioned it. She was trying to cheer him up.

"You remember the dance right?" she said jumping up for the bed and hopping to the floor. A smile spread to his face as he watched her move her body, replicating the dance. For about a year after the ant incident occurred, she frequently taunted him with 'ants in your pants' dance, as she liked to call it. Whenever she did it, it always made him laugh, even if it was at his expense.

"I can't remember the last time you did that." he said still laughing as she joined him on the bed.

"Me either. What do you remember…about us?" she asked him.

"The dirt cakes you used to make me for my birthday. I always looked forward to those." he told her. It started out as a joke but quickly turned into a tradition. Every year on Gale's birthday, Katniss made him a birthday cake out of dirt, decorating it with things she found around the meadow, like berries, flowers, and twigs. She then placed a small candle in the middle and lit it before presenting it to him. It was the best she could give him since there was no money to buy real birthday cakes from the bakery. He didn't care though.

"But you couldn't even eat it." she told him.

"I still liked them." he said with a grin.

They reminisced some more about their favorite memories and the interesting things that happened to them in the woods. They laughed and stole kisses from each other as they recounted their history. Gale noticed the sky was starting to get lighter and Katniss must have as well.

"Are you tired? We can rest for a little if you want to." she suggested.

"No, I'll have plenty of time for that. I want to spend every second I have left with you." he said. For the longest time, they just stared at each other as they struggled to stay awake.

"You're not tired at all?" she asked him breaking the silence.

"If you need to sleep, it's ok. I'll wake you up." he told her. He could tell she felt guilty about it. She didn't want to take away the time they had left together. "Katniss, it will be fine." With that, she closed her eyes and drifted off. Gale held onto her and thought about what was next for the both of them. He didn't want his fate to affect her as it did before. He knew she would mourn the loss of him once again, he just hoped it wouldn't consume her for the rest of her life. He closed his eyes, trying to block away the thoughts but instead felt himself drifting off into the oblivion.

* * *

(Katniss POV)

When Katniss woke, she looked up and saw Gale was fast asleep. She worried about how long they had been out but when she looked outside, she could tell by the sun's position in the sky that it was still the early morning. She went back inside and woke him with a kiss. He seemed surprised to be jarred out of his sleep with her lips touching his but then relaxed himself as he pulled her closer.

"We should start heading back soon." she told him.

"No, it's still early." he told her.

"If we don't leave soon, you'll miss the surprise." she told him. He looked at her with intrigue. She climbed out of bed and he joined her. He quickly got ready to leave and they were soon leaving the cabin for the forest. They walked briskly through the woods. When they got to the edge of the clearing, Gale stopped to take in the scene just one more time. Katniss stood beside him.

"We had some great times out here, didn't we?" he said sentimentally.

"The best." she said smiling happily at him as she took his hand. They walked hand in hand as they made their way to the edge of District 12. Gale waited as Katniss hid her hunting gear. When she returned, Gale drew her near, as he kissed her one last time. She wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted. It seemed like neither of them wanted it to end. Eventually he did.

"So what's the surprise?" Gale asked. She figured she might as well tell him since he would know where they were headed anyway.

"I thought we could go to the Hob before you turned yourself in." She saw a smile appear on his face.

"That sounds perfect." he replied.

After crossing under the fence, they walked through the Seam to the Hob. They didn't encounter too many people on their way and those they had didn't seem to notice Gale. When they entered the Hob, it was bustling with people. As they walked down the central aisle, she saw people frozen with shock to see Gale with her. Whispers flew around the room until the whole place was silent. The only noise was the sound of their footsteps on the floor. They continued to make their way to Greasy Sae's booth at the end on the row. She was the only one who didn't seem surprised that he was there, as she carried on as normal. As soon as they took a seat by the counter, the chatter resumed.

"What do we have today, Sae?" Gale asked her with a smile.

"Back from the dead, Mr. Hawthorne?" she said with a toothy smile.

"Yes, just for a little bit." he answered back.

"Today it's rabbit stew." she said, answering his question from before. She quickly brought them each a bowl of stew with a spoon placed inside. They quickly ate their first bowls before asking for seconds. When Sae returned, Katniss paid for their meal. They ate their second bowls much slower to drag out the time before they had to leave. Gale finished his stew first and went to a nearby stand to say hello to the vendor that occupied it. As Katniss finished her bowl, she heard a voice come from her left.

"I should have known that you knew about him." Darius said with a clever smile. Katniss smiled bashfully at the fact that he knew her secret. "So long did you know?"

"January." she told him.

"You put up quite a good act last night, pretending like you didn't know what was going on."

"Well I didn't know if I could trust you or not. You _are_ a Peacekeeper after all."

"Oh, I'm hurt!" he exclaimed as he clutched his heart as if he were in pain.

"Well it's true."

"You know I always have your back." he told her before he took the end of her braid tickled under her chin. Katniss laughed as she swung her braid away from his hand. His eyes lost the twinkled in an instant as Gale approached them.

"Gale." Darius nodded, as he acknowledged him before walking away.

"What did he want?" Gale asked with jealousy woven in his voice.

"Just saying hi." Katniss responded.

"Since when were you friends with Peacekeepers?"

"He's not like the others, Gale. You know that."

"Still, I wouldn't go around sharing secrets with him."

"He helped me last night. He told me what was going on."

"Just be careful, that's all." he said taking her hand. They made their way out of the Hob and started their journey to the center of town. As they passed, people gathered outside of their homes and shops, whispering to each other in amazement and shock that he was still alive. People then started following them, wondering what they would do next. Katniss hoped it didn't look like they the people were marching along with them. The last thing she wanted was for the Peacekeepers to think that they were starting an uprising.

Gale stopped Katniss when they were halfway up the stairs.

"I don't want you going in there with me. I wouldn't want them to think that you had any connection with this." he told her.

"Ok." she said nodding in agreement.

"How about one last kiss?" he asked her.

"There are so many people around." she said looking out of the corner of her eye. She didn't like having all those eyes on her.

"Then make it a good one." he whispered in her ear. She pulled away from him and smiled as stood on her toes to reach his lips. She could feel his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, as he eliminated any space left between their bodies. Katniss took in everything about the moment, wanting to remember exactly how it felt to kiss him. When he stepped back from her after the kiss was over, she wanted to cry. This was it. She wouldn't allow herself to do that though. She wanted to remain strong for him so he wouldn't worry about her.

"I love you." he whispered to her with a serious expression.

"I love you too…forever." she replied. He kissed her forehead one last time before he turned to make he way to the entrance of the building.

Katniss watched as Gale walked up the steps and into the Justice Building. Once he had disappeared, she turned around and saw the crowd starting to disperse. Standing still, about 20 yards away, was Peeta Mellark. She wasn't sure if he was still there because he was in shock from what his just witnessed or because he wanted to talk to her. She descended the steps and made her way towards him. When she was halfway to him, he turned around and started to walk back to the bakery.

"Peeta, wait up." she said trailing behind him. She could see his pace quicken as he made his way through the square. Katniss had to jog to catch up to him. "Peeta, wait a second!."

He took her arm and remained silent as he led her to a small alleyway close by. He remained silent as he thought of what to say.

"You were never going to give me a chance, were you?"

"Peeta, I didn't expect for him to show up."

"How long have you known about him…that he wasn't dead?"

"Right after the victory tour." She could see him flinch a little when he heard her response.

"All those times you said you were going hunting; you were actually going into the woods to be with him." She could see the pain written on his face. She nodded. "You could have told me that you didn't want to be with me. It would have been a lot better than finding out like this."

"I didn't want to hurt you." she said.

"Yeah, looks like that really worked for you." he said sarcastically as he turned to walk away. Katniss stood there unable to process what had just happened. She really did care about Peeta, if she hadn't, it would have been easy to break her ties with him. She wanted to follow him and explain everything that happened but she knew he wouldn't listen. Instead, she made her way out of the alley and walked back to Victor's Village.

* * *

**Oh no, the Capitol has Gale again! What do you think is going to happen next? **

**Btw, just to remind you, Gale will not die again so you don't have to worry about that. He won't be in the next chapter or two, but don't worry, there will definitely be a lot more Galeniss. You'll just have to be a little patient :)**

**P.S. I'm about to go to a class with a professor I really can't stand. It would be nice to get some reviews to read when I get back from class!**


	15. Reading of the Card

**This chapter is short so I decided it to post it early (maybe you'll get three chapter updates this week!) Here is a little something for you to enjoy before the week begins.**

**Also, I changed this from a Peeta/Katniss story to a Gale/Katniss story because a lot of you were confused about that. The reason I had it as Peeta/Katniss before was because I didn't want you to know that Gale was alive. I also did it because I had categorized the story under Hurt/Comfort and didn't think people would think it was a romance story between the two of them. Sorry if I misled some of you Peeta fans but I hope you will keep reading! :)**

A/N: In this story, the houses in Victor's Village aren't bugged with audio or video equipment.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.

* * *

Chapter 15

In the weeks that followed Gale turning himself in, Katniss found herself at Haymitch's house for most of the day, cleaning his house. It's not like she actually wanted to be around Haymitch or that she liked to clean but she needed something to take her mind off of Gale. She wouldn't let herself go back to the way she was before, too fragile to even leave her bed. And Haymitch's house was so messy, she'd have plenty of things to preoccupy herself with. His kitchen took most of the week to clean up. For Haymitch, any part of the ground constituted as a place for him to throw his trash. She couldn't even count how many bags of trash she had filled before she could see the floor. And the floor itself was covered in a thick layer of grime. She was surprised she could clean it without vomiting…it was that bad.

Today, she was working on the living room. For some reason, Haymitch insisted on lying on the couch with a bottle of liquor as he watched her. She wasn't sure if he did this to make sure she didn't get rid of anything "important" or if he was so lonely that he could use the company too. She started by removing all the liquor bottles from the room. She counted somewhere around 150. Next she moved onto dusting. When she reached the mantle, she saw those pictures, with their faces smiling back at her. She took them in her hands and brought them closer to Haymitch.

"Haymitch, who are these people?" she asked.

"None of your damn business." he said as he grabbed the frames out of her hand. He placed them face down on the table in front of him without looking at them.

"It might help to talk about it."

"When you're a victor as long as I have been, then I'll start taking your advice." he said sharply before taking a swig of the liquor. Katniss heard the timer beep in the kitchen, indicating that lunch was ready. She carried in two bowls of soup on a tray into the living room. She removed her bowl and placed it on the coffee table before bringing the tray over to Haymitch.

"I don't want it." he said.

"You have to eat something. You're getting thin." she said bluntly. He sat up and she set the tray on his lap. She stood over him until he ate a spoonful, and then returned to her chair.

"Mmm, not bad, sweetheart. You know if you were so _repulsed_ by the idea of marriage, you'd make a good wife." he said with a guffaw. His comment annoyed her.

"Yeah well I'm sure you couldn't find anyone that would marry you." she sputtered back. She expected him come back at her with some witty comment but he sat there with anger in his eyes. She could tell she hit a nerve.

"You shouldn't talk about things you don't know about." he finally said to her. The conversation was heading right where she wanted it to go.

"But you got close, didn't you? That girl in the picture with you…she was your girlfriend, wasn't she?"

"Fiancée." he muttered before he took a longer swig.

"So what went wrong? Why do you still have her picture if it didn't work out?" She could tell he didn't want to tell what happened as he sat there in silence. "Does she still live here? Do you ever see her?"

"She died…a long time ago." he said. Katniss could see a mixture of anger and pain in his expression.

"How?" Katniss asked.

"Just like you, I did something in the Games that the Capitol didn't like. So they hit me where they knew it would hurt me the most." he said pointing to his heart.

"You mean they…" Katniss trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. She suddenly started to worry more about Gale and what the Capitol was currently doing to him. They knew he was the most important thing to her.

"Yup, and they didn't stop there. They kept going until they were sure they had destroyed me." he said as he stood up both frames and faced them towards her. Panic streamed through her whole body. Would President Snow come after her mother and Prim next?

"That's why you drink all the time…because of them." she said quietly.

"It's hard to get through life when you have nothing to live for." She understood it perfectly now, why he constantly remained in a drunken haze. It helped numb him from all the hurt he had suffered since he won the Quarter Quell.

"Thank you for telling me that." she said. She knew it wasn't easy for Haymitch to tell her about his past. He never opened up to anyone.

"Yeah, well it's just a little bit of forewarning to you. You're walking the line as it is."

"What do you think will happen this year…with the Quell?" she asked nervously. She watched him shrug his shoulders.

"We'll find out tonight. I bet you've thought about the possibilities…you little worrier, you."

"My biggest fear is that they will reap tributes from the previous victors' families." If that did happen, both her mother and Prim would automatically be in the Quarter Quell. A shiver rushed through her body as she thought of it.

"Sounds like something they would do." he said. "Well you better get home, sweetheart. The announcement is in a couple hours. It wouldn't hurt to spend some time with your family before your entire world is shaken." She wasn't sure if he was joking or if he really meant it. Either way, she had enough of being in his house for the day. She cleaned up their dishes and made her way back to her own home.

* * *

That evening, Katniss sat down with her mother and Prim in the living room to watch the reading of the card for the 3rd Quarter Quell. Katniss watched with apprehension as she saw President Snow take his place behind the podium. He spoke of the how the Quarter Quell was born, and recounted the ways the tributes were selected for the previous Quells. He also reminded the viewers that on Quell years, no volunteers would be accepted to take a tribute's place. When he finished speaking, a boy with a box walked to podium. Inside contained about a hundred envelopes with instructions on how the tributes would be reaped during Quell years. President Snow selected the envelope from the front of the box and read from the sheet of paper that the envelope held.

"_On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors."_ Snow read from the card.

"Katniss!" she heard Prim squeal as her sister clung to her. Her mother wrapped her arms around Katniss' shoulders. Katniss realized what that meant. Her and Haymitch were headed back to the arena. She shook them off of her and stood up.

"Everything's…everything's going to be…" Katniss started. She couldn't finish the rest of her sentence. She felt her knees give out and she fell into a heap on the ground. Tears streamed from her face as she hunched over on the floor, unable to keep her cries and shrieks from escaping her. Prim and her mother sat beside her, trying to comfort her. It wouldn't help though. Nothing they could do could erase the pain she felt right now. She didn't want to go back. She just got out of that hell. She didn't want to return. She heard a knock coming from the door. Her mother stood up and told Prim to stay with her. Katniss heard the door open followed by a heavy set of footsteps.

"Where is she?" she heard a muffled voice say from the hall.

"In the living room." she heard her mother say. She felt Prim back away from her as the footsteps became closer.

"Katniss." she heard him say as he took her in his arms. It was Peeta. She didn't understand why he was here. He was mad at her.

"Peeta—" she started.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he whispered as he held her. She could hear her mother and Prim walk out of the room, leaving them alone.

"What am I going to do?" she asked hopelessly as she continued to cry her eyes out.

"You're going to win." he told her.

"Peeta, it's not like last year. The tributes this year, they are the strongest of the strong. They survived the Games too. There are no weak links this year." she told him.

"I'm going to help you. We'll train everyday to get you ready." he told her. Why did Peeta feel like he needed to do this? Maybe he felt obligated to help her since he helped her recover from her first Games.

"You don't have to do this Peeta." she told him.

"I know I don't have to…I want to. If something were to happen to you in there, I just don't know what I would do."

"Peeta, nothing is ever going to happen between us, even though he's gone." she told him. She wanted to be straightforward with him, the way she should have been the first time.

"I know." he told her.

"But won't it be difficult for you to be around me and know that?"

"That doesn't matter now. I want to do this for you. Let me help you." he said to her. She was wary about accepting his help.

"How do you even know what to do? You're a baker." she told him.

"Yes I am well aware of that. But I also played sports in school." he said. She forgot about that side of him. The merchant kids made up the majority of the sports teams they had in school, mainly because the Seam kids couldn't afford the fees.

"Ok, I'll let you help me…but what about Haymitch?" she said, suddenly realizing that her mentor would be joining her in the arena.

"We can help him too. He'll have to detox first of course."

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll love that idea." she said with a nervous laugh.

"Tomorrow we'll hide all his alcohol."

"He'll just buy more."

"Not if we cut off his source." he said with a sneaky smile. His smile was infectious as it also spread to her face. He used his sleeve to wipe the remaining tears from her face.

For some reason, it still felt wrong for her to be accepting his help. Just because he said he didn't mind, doesn't mean that those feelings of his won't get in the way. It's hard to make romantic feelings stay away forever. Like just now, when her heart skipped when he brushed away her tears. She definitely didn't expect that. '_I don't love you._' she thought to herself. '_It's only because I miss him. That's why I feel this way._'

* * *

**Yes, I know, Peeta's back (please don't hate on him). Don't worry, it's only to help Katniss. And don't forget Gale will be back soon! :)**


	16. Training

**Happy Tuesday! Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games of any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 16

It had been a month since Peeta started helping Katniss get ready for the Games. He usually stopped by after school for an hour before he had to be at the bakery. During the weekends, the workouts were longer. They would go for a run or work some agility exercises in her backyard. She could already tell that her endurance and strength were improving.

As for Haymitch, he wasn't on board with the whole training schedule but they had convinced him to cut back on the drinking. It wasn't so much of convincing as it was cutting him off. They paid off Ripper to stop selling him liquor, which she gladly accepted. Haymitch was furious with them but they made a deal. They would let him drink but they controlled the amount of alcohol he consumed. Katniss knew they had to wean him off the alcohol slowly or else the detoxification process would be unbearable for him.

That's where she was heading right now, to give Haymitch his daily alcohol ration. She found him on the porch, waiting for her, with his head leaning against the palm of his hand. He reached out his free hand indicating he was ready for the bottle. He quickly opened it and took a few gulps.

"Slow down. That all you get for today." She hoped he didn't realize it was less than he had last week.

"Gotta get rid of this headache." he told her. Only Haymitch would see alcohol as a headache cure. She sat in the open chair next to him. Katniss hadn't talked to him about the Games since she found out they would be going in them together. In fact, she hadn't even really seen him since the day of the reading of the card. Peeta dealt with him most of the time, which she was thankful for. She knew it wouldn't be pleasant or even safe to be around a sobering Haymitch.

"What brings you here, sweetheart. Besides the delivery." he said, noticing that she was still there.

"I thought we should talk about the Quell."

"Well I'm not going to take you out, if that's what you're worried about." he said with a hearty laugh.

"Like you even could. You're drunk most of the time." she said. She then remembered the time he pinned her to the wall of the train after she insulted him. Maybe he actually could if he wanted to.

"Well I'm not drunk most of the time anymore thanks to your _friend_." he spat.

"He's only trying to help." she replied.

"What else are you dying to ask me?"

"I was wondering about mentors. We're the only two Victors left. Who is going to mentor us when we we're in the arena."

"We get to choose our own." he said as he stretched out in his rocking chair.

"Seriously?" she asked, not sure if he playing with her.

"Yes. Maybe we can get that _friend_ of yours to do it since he's always over here."

"He's not always over here."

"Seems like it."

"And why do you keep saying 'friend' like that?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Because I seen how the two of you are around each other."

"He's just helping me, that's all."

"If you say so." he huffed as he took another swig.

"Do you really think he should be our mentor?" Katniss asked.

"I don't see why not. He seems like he has a good head on his shoulders and he'll actually make sure he does everything he can to get you out of the arena." Haymitch said.

"What about you?" Katniss asked.

"Only one of us is getting out of there, and I think we all know whom Panem would prefer." he told her. Katniss had never thought about the fact that Haymitch probably wouldn't be making it out of the arena. She felt sad about the fate of her Mentor. "Don't beat yourself up about it. I've lived already, you're still young."

"I'm sure Snow will order around the Gamemakers to make sure I don't get out of there."

"You're tough. Be sure to show them you aren't going down without a fight." he told her. Their conversation lulled into silence. When Haymitch stood up to go inside, she took that as a cue to leave. She walked back home and waited for Peeta so she could tell him the plan.

That evening, after training, Peeta agreed to stay and have dinner with the Everdeens. Katniss could see the excitement in Prim's eyes as she saw Peeta appear in the kitchen. It had been so long she had gotten to spend time with him. As usual, she dragged him to her side of the table to sit next to her and asked him question after question.

"Prim, what is this, an interview?" Katniss huffed.

"I don't mind." Peeta said. Of course he wouldn't mind. He's always so polite.

"Yeah, see he doesn't mind." Prim said back to her sister.

As soon as Katniss was finished eating, she excused herself from the table and informed Peeta that she would be outside waiting for him. She grabbed a blanket from a cabinet by the back door and wrapped it around her before she laid on the hammock. Even though the weather was starting to warm up, the nights still had a chill in the air. March was like that in District 12. Katniss gazed up at the clear night sky. The moon wasn't out tonight so the stars appeared to shine even brighter than usual. Her concentration was interrupted when she felt the hammock shift. She looked to her right and saw Peeta sitting on the edge.

"What was that about?" he asked her as he placed his hand on the other side of the hammock to balance himself.

"Huh?"

"The way you stormed out of there. Don't pretend like I didn't notice that." he told her.

"You don't always have to be so accommodating."

"She can really talk your ear off." Peeta said with a laugh.

"What do you expect? She is a teenager now."

"Were you like that when you were her age?" he asked.

"No."

"Scoot over." he told her. He must have wanted to lie down too.

"You want some blanket too?" she joked.

"Yes that would be nice." he said with a smirk. She unwrapped herself from the blanket and draped it over the both of them.

"What is it?" she asked as she turned to face him.

"I think we have a spy." he said with a smile. Katniss tilted her head back and could see Prim watching them from her bedroom window.

"She's probably waiting to see if we do anything." Katniss said rolling her eyes.

"What, can't two friends share a hammock together?" he said with a light laugh.

"The blanket makes it look a lot less innocent. I mean we could be doing anything under it."

"Like this." he said placing his hand on the side of her waist. She felt something stir inside her. She hoped he did notice what he did to her just then. "Sorry, I had to do that." he said with a smile as he removed his hand. She wished he hadn't. She stayed silent for a while. "I said I was sorry Katniss." he said, his face more serious. He must have thought it bothered her.

"No it's fine." she told him but she wasn't sure if he believed her. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath and exhaled.

"Are you tired?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I had nightmares last night." she said.

"About what?" he asked her softly.

"About the Quell and what they are doing to Gale right now." she told him. She wasn't sure she made it through a whole hour's sleep before the end of a terrifying nightmare woke her up.

"Has this been happening a lot?" he asked her.

"No, not like last night."

"I'm sure he's fine." he said.

"You can't possibly know that Peeta."

"Yeah." he said quietly. "Wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Can I rest for a little first?" she asked him.

"Sure. I'll wake you up in a half hour." he told her. Katniss closed her eyes. After a few minutes, Peeta must have thought she was asleep because she could feel him wrap his arm around her waist. She didn't do anything to make him remove it. She savored his touch, wishing she were closer to him. She shifted her weight inconspicuously, causing her to sink further to the middle of the hammock. Her cheek rested against his chest and she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. She tried to hold on, to enjoy this moment, but with her eyes closed, her body quickly betrayed her and it took her away from consciousness.

When Katniss came to, she found herself enveloped by the warmth of her plush bedding. She was confused as to how she got there. The last thing she remembered was lying close to Peeta Mellark in the hammock in her backyard. She shot up from her pillow, scanning the room for any trace of him, but found the room to be empty. She stood from her bed, still in her clothes from the previous night and went into the hallway. She knocked on Prim's door before entering. Maybe she would know what happened to him. She found Prim lying above her covers, staring upwards in a daze.

"Prim have you seen Peeta?" she asked as she joined her sister on the bed. Prim sat up before addressing her sister.

"He went home after he put you to bed. You don't remember him carrying you?" she asked with a giddy smile.

"No, I don't." she said perplexed. She was surprised he could carry her that far but then again, she knew he was strong.

"Katniss, do you like him?" Prim asked her.

'_Great_.' Katniss thought. She never imagined having boy talks with Prim, especially with Prim being only 13. She had never even thought about boys when she was that age. "He's nice to hang out with." she answered.

"No, not like that. I mean do you like him as more than a friend?"

Katniss didn't even know the answer to the question. What was she supposed to tell her sister?

"No just as a friend." she replied. "Why are you so interested anyways?"

"I saw you on the hammock with him last night and I thought that maybe there was something going on with him."

"There isn't." Katniss reassured her.

* * *

In the early afternoon, Peeta showed up to Katniss' house for another training session.

"You didn't wake me up." she said after he sat next to her on the back porch.

"I tried. You were out like a light. Plus, I figured whatever it was, you would be tell me about it today." he said.

"I was talking to Haymitch and your name came up as a possible Mentor for us…if you want to that is."

"I can't. I'm not a Victor." he told her.

"Neither is anyone else in District 12 so we get to choose."

"Haymitch is ok with it?" he asked surprised.

"He's the one who suggested it. So what do you think?"

"Yeah. Ok. I'll do it." he said with a smile.

"The only downside is that you will have to spend more time with Haymitch so he can teach you about mentoring."

"I think I can manage. Plus, he has gotten better now that he's cut back on the alcohol."

"If you say so." Katniss laughed.

"Come on, let's get to training." he said standing up. They started off with a run to the Hob and back. Katniss was surprised that she could run that far without stopping. She definitely couldn't do it a month ago. While she went inside to get them some water, Peeta headed to the backyard to set up the different stations of the circuit he devised. They did this every Saturday but each week he switched out some of the stations with more difficult exercises. Today she would have to complete 3 laps of the 8-station circuit. She knew she had a lot of work ahead of her.

Halfway through the second lap, she struggled to get through the pushup station. She rested on her knees, panting heavily. He looked over at her when he realized she wasn't keeping up with him.

"Come on, Katniss, 5 more." he told her.

"I need to rest. Just give me a minute."

"Is that what you are going to say to a Career when they catch up to you in the arena?" he said smugly. "Come on, 5 more." He must have known that would have worked. If she was going to die in the arena, the last thing she wanted was to be killed by the hands of a Career. She didn't stop until she had completed them.

By the end of the circuit, Katniss felt like she could barely stand she was so exhausted. She had never expected training to be like this but she knew she'd be thankful once she was in the arena. She wondered how this compared to the Career training. She stretched out on the grass and placed her hands behind her head as she looked up at the sky. Once Peeta had finished cleaning up, he joined her.

"I think you missed your calling. You would have made a great Career trainer." she said with sarcasm.

"Aww, come on I'm not _that_ harsh." he said with a smile.

"You would be a good trainer for the Games though. I wonder how they even get that job. They don't look like they are from the Capitol." Katniss thought out loud.

"I wouldn't want to be connected to the Games in any way, trust me."

"Well you will be once you start Mentoring."

"That's different. I'm only doing it to help you. And Haymitch." He probably added that last bit so he wouldn't sound insensitive.

"He doesn't expect to get out."

"Well he can't if you do." Peeta replied.

"I know." Katniss said with a sigh. As much as she couldn't stand Haymitch at times, the last thing she wanted was for him to die trying to save her. Their conversation was interrupted by Prim.

"Mom wants to know if you are staying for dinner." she said to Peeta as she stood over them. Peeta looked over to Katniss, with wondering eyes. The decision was obviously up to her.

"Yes, he's staying." she said to Prim. She could see a large smile appear on Prim's face before she ran inside to tell her mother. She couldn't help but notice that her sister might have a little crush on Peeta Mellark. She would have to ask Prim about that later.

Katniss turned on her stomach before she pushed herself off the ground. She extended both her hands to Peeta and helped him up.

"You can get your shower first." she told him as they walked to her room.

"Do you have any clothes I could change into?" he asked her.

"Throw your clothes out here and I'll wash them while you are in the shower." she said to him. He gave her a quizzical look, not fully understanding what she meant. She had to explain to him that their washer/dryer machine from the Capitol could clean and dry your clothes in ten minutes flat. He seemed impressed. Once he had undressed in her bathroom, he cracked the door enough to hand her the clothes. She made her way to the laundry room (she still couldn't believe they had a whole room just for laundry) and started the machine.

She sat on the counter and waited until the machine made a sharp buzzing noise. She grabbed the lump of clothing and made her way back to her room. She was surprised when she saw Peeta appear from the bathroom in nothing but a towel. She could feel her heart rate increase and she was sure she was blushing by now.

"Thanks." he said lightheartedly as he took the clean laundry from her. He walked to the bathroom and emerged fully dressed. He then left the room to give her some privacy. Katniss retrieved some clothes from her drawers and then went into the shower to clean off the sweat and dirt from her skin.

When she reached the kitchen, the three of them were already waiting for her. Dinner carried on as it usually did when Peeta was a dinner guest there. Prim chattered away, stopping only for Peeta's responses. That night Katniss wasn't annoyed or angry. She was amused watching Prim talk to Peeta. In was interesting to see the way she would say things to try to impress him and her innocent little attempts at flirting with him. Katniss wondered what Peeta thought about this. Did he know what she was trying to do?

After dinner was over, Katniss walked Peeta to the door and they said their goodbyes. She went to her room to get ready for bed. She knew it was still early but the training had really worn her out. Just as she was getting into bed, she heard the knock on the door.

"Come in." she said. The door opened and she saw Prim walking towards her. She looked like she had a lot of her mind. "Everything ok, little duck?" she asked in a soothing voice. Prim sat beside her on the bed, waiting a few seconds before she spoke.

"Katniss, do you think a guy like Peeta would ever go for a girl like me?" Prim asked. Katniss had to hold back her laughter. She didn't think she was going to say something as trivial as that.

"A guy like him?" Katniss asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not a guy like him…just him." she bashfully admitted.

"He's a little old for you Prim."

"Gale is older than you are."

"Yes but by half as many years. Maybe when you're older, something could happen." Katniss said, still leaving her sister with some hope.

"He's very cute. All my friends think so too."

"Oh, so that is why they have all been over here." Katniss teased. She saw her sister's cheeks redden. In the past month she often saw Prim with her three friends spying on Peeta when he came over to train with her. "Well if I were you I'd focus on boys your own age for now." Prim nodded her head, taking her advice.

"Thanks, Katniss, for listening." Prim said giving her sister a hug.

"Anytime." Katniss told her as she returned the hug. Prim left the room, leaving Katniss to herself. She turned off the light and went to bed.

* * *

**Let me know what you think of this Chapter! Also, Gale is coming back soon (I'm sure you've all figured out how by now). Look for an update on Thursday! :)**


	17. The Reaping

**Another Thursday, another update! BTW, thanks for the reviews! I love hearing your predictions and also the ideas about what you would like to happen. You'll just have to wait and see if any of them happen! :) Enjoy this!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

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Chapter 17

On the eve of the Reaping, Katniss invited Peeta and Haymitch to join her family for dinner before their big send off to the Capitol. They actually had a nice time. Haymitch was finally getting close to being sober and his true personality was starting to show through. She was surprised at how funny he was. They sat around the table, sharing stories, anything to keep their mind off of tomorrow. They were so entertained, they lost track of the time.

"I should get going." Peeta said as he looked at the clock. It was almost midnight.

"I'll see you out." Katniss said, standing from her chair. They walked in silence until they were on her front porch.

"So, this is it." Peeta said with finality.

"I guess so. I'll see you tomorrow." she said to him. She wasn't sure why but she stepped closer to Peeta and wrapped her arms around him. Then, she rested her head against his chest as she breathed him in. Katniss expected to feel him returned the embrace but instead he took her shoulders and moved her away from him.

"You _feel_ something. Don't you?" he said to her. Katniss stood there in silence, unsure how to answer that.

"I don't know." she answered quietly.

"What do you mean you don't know? You either do or you don't." he told her.

"Peeta, it's complicated." she sighed. She could tell this comment made him even more frustrated than the previous one. He turned towards the stairs and took a few steps forward. He must have thought of something else to say because he turned around and walked back to his previous spot.

"If I were to kiss you right now, would you push me away because you didn't want it or because you felt like you had to?" he said as calmly as he could. She was not expecting that question. In fact, she was surprised he didn't just go in for the kiss. Again, she didn't know what to say but she knew she had to come up with something fast.

"It doesn't matter Peeta! At the end of the week, I'm going to be in the arena, and you will probably never see me again."

"Don't you dare…" he said.

"But it's true! The odds aren't exactly in my favor now, are they?"

"I didn't come over here every day for the past two months just so I could watch you die in there! You can do this, you've done it before."

"The only reason I got out of there the first time was because of Gale." she said, now shouting.

"You don't need him, Katniss." Peeta shouted back.

"How do you know that!" The two of them were inches from each other, seething. They were so involved in their argument that they didn't hear the door open. Haymitch placed one hand on each of them and pushed them away from each other. Katniss and Peeta looked to him, wondering what he would say next.

"Pull yourselves together!" he reprimanded them. Katniss found it weird that Haymitch was the most rational of all of them at the moment. He never was.

"You, get out of here." Haymitch said pushing Peeta towards the stairs. He then took Katniss by the arm and pulled her inside. "You know sweetheart, it's best if you don't piss off your Mentor. He's the only thing that's going to get you through this and it's best if he actually gives a damn about you."

"He started it." Katniss said crossing her arms.

"I don't care. Now get to bed." he said before exiting her house. What was happening? Peeta was mad at her and Haymitch was actually making sense? That was something she never expected to happen.

* * *

"Come, come, out of bed! It's a big, big, big day!" Katniss heard Effie exclaim. How did she even get in her room? She heard Effie's heels click as she walked to the curtains to let the morning light in.

"Effie, what are you doing?"

"Someone had to wake you. We couldn't let you sleep the day away. We have lots of preparations before the Reaping after all." she said in her most refined Capitol accent. Katniss shot up from her pillow. Preparations?

"Is the prep team here?" she asked with dread.

"No, that would be silly Katniss; to travel all this way just to put on a little makeup and polish. Only Cinna is here." Effie said. Katniss breathed a sigh of relief. At least she had another day or two before the prep team tortured her. After Effie left her bedroom, she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and shower. When she was finished, she put on a robe and made her way to the guestroom where she was sure Cinna was waiting for her. He had just finished setting up the garment rack when she walked in. She ran as fast as she could and hugged him.

"I couldn't believe it…when I heard the news." he said to her.

"Neither could I."

"Well don't worry. We're going to make you shine even brighter this year. Sponsors will be lining up out the door."

"Thank you Cinna." she said sincerely.

Cinna went straight to work on Katniss, braiding her hair in an intricate pattern and applying a little makeup to her face. She caught him up on everything that had happened since she last saw him: finding Gale in the woods, him having to turn himself in, training with Peeta and the fact that Peeta was the new Mentor of District 12. Next, he made her try on four different dresses to decide what she should wear to the reaping. He ended up choosing airy, white dress that was sleeveless and reached to her knees. She supposed he chose white to signify her innocence in being reaped for two consecutive years. Before they went downstairs, Katniss grabbed the Mockingjay pin from her side table drawer and Cinna fastened it over her heart.

The team took a car to the Justice Building, on Effie's insistence. Katniss didn't blame her. The heat was stifling and she also couldn't imagine Effie walking to town in the 6-inch heels. Katniss was taken inside the building to the same holding room she waited in after the Reaping the year before. She looked out the window as she saw the people starting to assemble. The layout of the square was different from previous Reapings. Since only Victors could be reaped, the area in front of the stage was filled with a mixture of people of all ages. She heard the door click open and footsteps drew nearer.

"They are ready for you now." Peeta said to her. She looked to her right and saw him standing beside her. He looked so sophisticated in his navy suit and his hair slicked to the side. He looked the part of Mentor.

"You look different." she said.

"It was Cinna's idea to dress me up, so that the other Mentors will take me seriously." he said. Leave it to Cinna to think of every angle. He must have know Peeta was her Mentor before she told him that morning…or maybe he just came prepared. "Katniss, what I said last night; that was wrong of me."

"It's ok. I think everyone's emotions were running high last night."

"We should go." he said looking at the gold-toned watch on his wrist. They left the room and made their way down the long hallway. With every step, Katniss could feel herself getting more and more nervous. She felt Peeta take her hand. He must have noticed how she was feeling at that moment. He gave her hand a soft squeeze before letting go as he opened the door to exit the building. They walked out on a raised stage. Peeta escorted Katniss to the chair beside Haymitch before walking to take his seat across stage with Effie. At 2 o'clock, the reaping began. Katniss blocked out Mayor Undersee as he read the required passages he did before every reaping. Instead, she scanned the audience taking in the disposition of the people there. Most of the people looked relieved that none of their family members were eligible for the reaping this year. She didn't blame them. If she weren't on stage, she'd feel the same way too.

She looked towards the front of the crowd and found her mother and sister standing next the Hawthornes. At least they didn't have to worry this year, even though they had already lost Gale. They probably thought he was dead now, which was better than thinking of what was actually happening to him. Her stare focused on Prim. She could tell that Prim was trying so hard not to break down in hysterics. Katniss could see tears silently fall down her face. It would have been worse if she hadn't already known her sister's fate.

Katniss regain her awareness of the crowd as a whole as gasps and whispers filtered through the air. She looked to the podium and saw that Effie was now standing behind it. She didn't understand what that was for. They knew that Effie always wore something outrageous by District 12's standards but no one actually cared enough to comment about it. Her eye caught the image of the screen on the right side of the square and she understood what all the commotion was about. Being escorted to the stage by two Peacekeepers was Gale Hawthorne. She looked to her left and saw Gale standing beside her. He looked pretty good considering what had happened. There were no cuts or bruises and he looked well fed and put together.

But she was confused why he was here in the first place. He didn't win The Hunger Games; she did. Suddenly, it clicked for her. He made it out of the arena so technically he was a Victor. But why would Snow let him out, to let Panem know that he had survived? Wasn't that exactly what President Snow was trying to avoid? Her thoughts were broken for a second when she heard Effie call her name. She stood up and walked to the left of Effie and then Effie started to draw a name from the bowl to her right. Katniss knew this wasn't good. She didn't even have to listen to the other name that was called out because she knew it would be Gale's. That was the whole point, bringing him back. Because President Snow knew that this would destroy her.

Effie then instructed them to shake hands, as the two tributes always did. It seemed a little odd for her to be doing this, considering their recent history. She thought about pulling him towards her for a kiss but knew that it would only piss off the Capitol even more. A Peacekeeper stood beside each of them and escorted them inside the building. Katniss was brought back to the same room as before to say her goodbyes. Prim rushed in with her mother trailing behind.

"Katniss, you have to win." Prim said hugging her sister. This was painfully similar to her goodbyes with them the year before.

"I'll try my hardest." Katniss said to her sister. It was a lie though. She knew she wouldn't be coming back. This time in the arena, she'd make sure Gale was the one who was made Victor. She gave them more instructions to follow while she was away. She told them to buy as much as they could and store it in their house in the Seam just in case something should happen to her. When she is dead, they will have to move out of the house in Victor's Village and will lose any of the money in Katniss' bank account. It didn't seem fair that the Capitol did this to the Victors' families but it was never known for being sympathetic. She told them she loved them and then a Peacekeeper came to show them out.

Katniss stayed in the room, waiting to be taken to the train station. The door opened and she found Peeta entering the room. He took long strides toward her and wrapped her tightly in his arms. She figured he probably wouldn't be coming with her now that Haymitch was a mentor again.

"You have to come back." he pleaded with her. He must have figured out what her new plan was.

"I'm not sure I want to." she told him. He took a step back from her, so he could see her face.

"Katniss, you're not thinking—"

"He saved me last time, now it's his turn."

"Turn? There are no turns when it comes to The Hunger Games. It's not like you are sharing a toy with him…this is your life we're talking about." he told her. She hated how passionate he became when he talked.

"It's what I want."

"What about what I want? Does that mean nothing to you?"

"Peeta." she said softly.

"Or what about Prim? What do you think will happen to her once you're gone? You know she won't cope well."

"Maybe you could help her like you helped me."

"And who is suppose to help me?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

"What do I do without you?" he asked, caressing her cheek.

"We shouldn't be talking about this now." she said turning away from him.

"There isn't any other time to talk about this." he said before exhaling loudly. She turned back to face him, unsure of what she would say next. She caught him just as he hurriedly wiped the tears from his cheeks. She hated to leave him like this. Why did he have to like her?

Katniss heard the door open once again and two Peacekeepers entered the room. Panic flooded Peeta's eyes as looked to the men and then back to her. Why was he so worried? It's not like they were going to hurt her. He wrenched her in his arms and pressed his lips to hers. She didn't have enough time to push him away. The Peacekeepers took care of that when they ripped him off of her. They sprayed something in his face causing him to collapse to the ground.

"Why did you do that to him!" she shouted at them. It's not like he retaliated against the Peacekeepers. They didn't say anything in response. Each Peacekeeper stood on one side of her and escorted her to the cars waiting behind the Capitol building. She rode alone with Effie, not paying attention to whatever it was Effie was droning on about. Instead, she looked out the window, taking in District 12 for the last time.

At the station, the Mayor gave a short speech before they boarded the train. As soon as doors closed, Gale rested his hand on the small of her back and started to lead her to the bedroom compartments. Haymitch obstructed their path.

"Dining car, now." he told them. They turned around and started walking towards their destination. Katniss was annoyed. She hadn't seen Gale in months. Could he have just given them a few minutes to themselves before doing whatever they were about to do? Inside the dining car, the table was set for dinner.

"Is this why you dragged us here?" she barked at him.

"No, you are here so we can discuss our strategy for this time around."

"It's the same as last time." Gale said.

"The two of you fighting over who gets to die for the other? Because I don't want to see any more of that shit in the arena this time." Haymitch said.

"Katniss goes home alive." Gale said with determination.

"That ok with you, sweetheart?" Haymitch asked as he poured himself a drink_. All that hard work for nothing. _

"Yes that's the plan." she said. Katniss kept her mouth shut about what she really wanted to avoid any arguments. She would tell Haymitch the real plan later.

"Good, that settles it." Haymitch said. Katniss and Gale stood up at the same time. "Sit down and eat." Haymitch told them. Katniss glared at Haymitch but did as he said. She figured he be more willing to agree to her plan if she didn't do anything to make him irate. Once Katniss was in her chair, Gale also sat down after seeing that she wasn't going anywhere.

About an hour into dinner, Katniss lost interest in the conversation. Couldn't it just be over already? She wanted to talk to Gale, but not in front of Haymitch, Cinna, and Effie. The things she wanted to say were private. For the next 10 minutes, she tuned out everyone in the room and shifted her food around her plate with her fork to preoccupy herself. She was broken from her haze when she felt Gale tap his foot against hers. She looked up to meet his gaze and saw him smiling warmly at her. He then mouthed 'I love you' to her from across the table without anyone detecting it. This made her grin. She mouthed 'I love you more' back to him. Gale shook his head, playfully disagreeing with her.

Katniss looked at her dinner companions, wondering how she could escape from the table with Gale. She didn't want to be rude but she also didn't want to be at the table in an hour's time. She felt Gale tap her foot once again. She looked to see what he would do next. Gale tapped his knife on his plate a few times, but she was unsure what that signal meant. She then watched as he dropped it under the table, closer to her side. Katniss slid under the table to retrieve it and found Gale joining her to find it. He quickly advanced towards her for a kiss. She knew it would have to be brief so the others wouldn't get suspicious. Once his lips met hers, she knew she didn't want the kiss to cease. After a few seconds, she felt him separate from her. He carefully backed up to return to his seat. Katniss grabbed the knife and took her seat. She looked over to Haymitch who was now smirking. He must have known what they were up to. She looked back to Gale and could see why Haymitch had caught on. He had her lipstick smeared over his face. She probably looked the same as he did at the moment. Katniss took her napkin and wiped along the edges of her mouth. Gale must have pieced it together because he picked the napkin off his lap and wiped it a few times over his mouth. Katniss gave him a discrete thumbs-up when he had removed the evidence of their not-so-secret kiss.

Katniss grew impatient as the fifth course arrived. She didn't even know how many more courses were to follow. By now, she was tapping her index finger on the mahogany table to alleviate her frustration. Haymitch slammed his hand down over hers to stop the sound. Katniss pulled her hand away from the table and left the dining car. Why should she have to stay there anyway? She was old enough to make her own decisions. She found her way to her compartment and sat on the edge of the bed, wondering if Gale was close behind.

A minute later, the door opened and he entered her room. No words were spoken as they rushed towards each other. Gale reached down and lifted her off the ground to bring her closer to him. Katniss instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist as he took a hold of her. He kissed her deeply as the passion between them built. She was so happy that he was alive and here with her, even though they would be returning to the Games. She pushed that to the back of her head. She didn't want to think about that right now.

Gale must have lost some of his focus as the train took a sharp turn causing him to lose his balance. They both crashed to the ground but the pain of the fall didn't stop them from ceasing their activity. Katniss laid on her back as Gale positioned himself on top of her. She felt a surge travel through her as she felt his hands explore her body. Eventually, his hands came up to rest on her cheeks. His touch seemed different from before in the woods. His skin no longer had that roughness that she was used to but was instead soft as silk. When she finally made a connection, she pushed him off of her. She looked at his hand and found that all his scars were gone. He had a confused look on his face as she pulled up the leg of his pants, exposing his calf. The scar from the arena was gone as well.

Katniss sat on the bed, recovering from the shock. No wonder he looked so good at the Reaping. She should have known that the Capitol wouldn't have let him off that easily. Gale sat beside her on the bed and took her hand.

"What did they do to you?" she asked him.

"I think you figured it out already."

"They tortured you, didn't they?"

"Yes." he said. "After they figured out what they were going to do with me, they couldn't let the public see me like that so they had erase the damage."

"They changed the Quell card, didn't they?" she said softly.

"Of course they did. Snow wants us both dead. It's perfect solution. The joke is on him though because I'm getting you out of there again." he said as he pulled her closer to him. Katniss kept her mouth shut. She wouldn't let him know what her true intention was. There was a knock on Katniss' door followed by Effie announcing that the Reaping recap was in 5 minutes. They made their way to the television car to watch who they would be facing in the arena this year. The tributes ranged from young to old. Half of them looked like they were addicted to some sort of substance. The only people she really had to worry about were the Careers. They looked fiercer than last year, even though they were older. Most of them, aside from the female tribute from four, looked like they were in good shape. Katniss looked up at Gale and could tell he was pleased with the tributes selected. When the broadcast was over, Effie sent them to bed, reminding them that the Opening Ceremony would be tomorrow evening.

Katniss walked with Gale down the hallway to their rooms. She wondered where he planned to sleep for the night. He stopped with her in front of the door and turned to face her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" he said. She couldn't believe he was going to leave her by herself. She watched as his serious express melt away. "I'm just kidding, Katniss." he said in a playful tone. Katniss was not amused. She shot him a disproving look before she opened the door to her room. Gale's hand caught the door as she swung it to close. She kept her back towards him as her emotions got the best of her. She felt him wrap his arms around her.

"Katniss, I'm sorry. If I had known, I wouldn't have done that to you." he said apologetically. "I'll stay with you any night you want me to." Katniss turned around to face him.

"Every night." she said softly.

"I think I can handle that." he said before lightly kissing her lips. Gale left the room briefly so they could both get changed and met her back in her room. He turned out the light and joined her in her bed.

* * *

Gale jostled Katniss from her sleep in the middle of the night. She knew why…she was having one of the many reoccurring nightmares that plagued her sleep. Her breathing was heavy and tears were running down her face. She clutched onto Gale as she tried to get her breathing under control.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You…you died." she gasped.

"It's ok, I'm right here." he said stroking her hair.

"I don't want to lose you again."

"I wish I could tell that we'd always be together but we both know that can't happen."

"It's not fair having you back for such a short time."

"That's why he did it Katniss. To remind you of what you can never have." he whispered. He was right. Snow knew exactly where he could hit her the hardest.

"Maybe we could find a way to get both of us out of there."

"No, they'd never allow that." she said.

"It's different now. We're going into the Capitol as a couple and people know us. By the time we land in the arena, they'll have to save us both." he told her. She was unsure if he was speaking on a whim or if he actually had a plan. She was too afraid to ask. She wanted to cling to hope that he actually knew what he was doing; that he was doing everything he could to keep them together instead of sacrificing himself for her.

"Let's get some rest, Catnip." he said easing her down to her pillow. "Sweet dreams." he whispered softly into her ear.

* * *

**Yay, Gale's back in the story again! How did you like those Galeniss scenes? And what do you think lies ahead for Gale and Katniss in the Capitol/Games? **

**BTW, after I thought up the whole scenario of Katniss and Haymitch in the Games with Peeta as their mentor, I was kind of bummed out that I wouldn't get to write about that (I always planned for Gale and Katniss to be in the Quell together). I guess I could always write a spin-off...anyone interested in that?**


	18. The Capitol

**They are in the Capitol now, which means it's Finnick time! Hope you like this chapter! There is some Gale POV in this one. Also, changing it to an M rating now b/c you never know what is going to happen now that Katniss and Gale are back together. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.

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Chapter 18

The next day, they entered the Capitol and were sent straight to the Remake Room. It was just as horrible as Katniss had remembered from the previous year. When the prep team was finished, Cinna prepared her for the Opening Ceremony. He dressed her and then revealed the magic behind her district costume this year. Instead of emanating burning coal, they costumes smoldered like glowing embers. Katniss knew the citizens of the Capitol were going to love it. She was currently waiting by the chariots waiting for Gale. She watched as the other Victors talked in groups, catching up on their lives. Many of them were current Mentors or were friends with each other. No one seemed too interested in her. Instead, she stood by herself with the black horse that would pull her chariot and gently petted it.

Katniss was startled when she heard someone greet her from behind. She whipped around and saw Finnick Odair, from District 4. It was no exaggeration that he was the most handsome citizen in all of Panem. He used it to his advantage too during his own Games, when he used his good looks to draw in sponsors.

"Hello Finnick." Katniss said nonchalantly. She couldn't help but notice his costume…or should she say, his lack of a costume. All he had covering him was a gold net that was deliberately knotted at his groin.

"Oh, so you do know who I am." he said with a smile as he drew himself closer to her.

"Of course I do…everyone does." she blurted out. She was forced by the Capitol to watch his Games after all.

"Want a sugar cube?" he asked holding his hand in front of her.

"Last time I checked, those were for the horses." Katniss muttered back. She then felt the knot of his costume press against her hip as he lowered his mouth to her ear.

"Come on, a little sugar never hurt anyone." he whispered seductively. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. She was sure to be blushing heavily by now.

"Is that what you tell all your admirers?" she asked rolling her eyes. She wasn't going to give Finnick the pleasure of having him think that he affected her.

"No that one was especially for you." he said. She couldn't believe this guy. Did he ever know when to stop?

"Looks like your stylists came up with a really winner this year. That must have taken ages to construct." she said sarcastically. She took that moment to take a step backwards.

"Like yours is any better. I was expecting more after what I saw last year." he said as he traced her collarbone with his thumb over the black fabric of her jumpsuit. She smacked his hand away from her. "You know I'm sure the people in the Capitol would love to get their hands on you."

"That's the different between us; I'm not easily bought." she said referring to his escapades with the Capitol women.

"Neither am I. I get something far more valuable than money. I make them tell me their secrets."

"What kind of secrets?"

"The kind that could destroy someone." he said with a wicked grin. "What about you Katniss Everdeen? Do you have any secrets I should know about?" Katniss shifted uncomfortably at his close proximity. Hadn't he ever heard of personal space? She opened her mouth to speak but he started before her. "Looks like your boyfriend is heading this way. I hope he doesn't get the wrong idea." he said before walking away. She saw Gale walk up to her with a combination of confusion and jealousy written on his face.

"What did Finnick Odair want? he asked.

"He wanted to know if I wanted any of his sugar and if I would tell him all my secrets." Katniss huffed. She could tell that bothered him. "You not worried about Finnick, are you?" she asked with a laugh.

"No, I just don't think he should go around flirting with girls that are already taken."

"I don't think he was flirting; he was just trying to make me uncomfortable."

"Oh, Katniss, you have a lot to learn." he said wrapping his arm around her.

'_What does that mean_?' she thought. A worker for the Capitol signified that it was time for them to take to their chariots. They ceremony was about to begin. Gale leaned over to her and told her instructions that Portia gave for them. She told them to act disaffected by their return to the Capitol—no waving or smiling. They turned on their costumes as their chariot rolled out of the gates. The audience received them very well and she could hear the cheering erupt to an ear-shattering decibel. Gale took her hand as their chariot made its way to the President's Mansion. President Snow gave a short speech, the anthem played, and they were sent back to the Training Center. Gale and Katniss went straight to the elevator to go to their floor. Just as the doors were closing, Johanna Mason held out her arms to keep the doors opened as she stomped into the lift.

"Every fucking year!" she shouted as she threw her headpiece at the wall. She continued to rip off her costume piece by piece until every inch of her was exposed. She then turned and looked toward them.

"Oh, hello." she said to Gale, as if she was just noticing him. She had to have seen them as she stepped onto the elevator.

"Bad night?" Gale asked her.

"Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I'm dressed in a ridiculous tissue paper tree outfit. How the hell am I suppose to get sponsors if I'm wearing a costume that a 10 year old could have put together?"

"You should have just gone out like that. You definitely would have gotten their attention."

"You're lucky. I'd kill to have Cinna design my costumes." she said as she moved in front of him and stroked the smooth fabric over his chest. Katniss' mouth dropped in shock. Was she seriously flirting with him right in front of her?

"It definitely gives us an advantage."

"Oh, I think you'd do just fine with out it. What does it look like on the inside anyways? Are there wires?" she asked as she unzipped the front and folded the fabric back. Katniss was angry now. She felt Gale take her hand and give her a hard squeeze to signal that she shouldn't do anything.

"No wires. I'm not really sure how it works." he told her. Just then the elevator door opened to floor 7. Johanna waved goodbye as she turned around and strutted off to her room. Katniss slapped Gale's arm with force.

"Ow, what was that for?" he exclaimed.

"Johanna Mason, really?" she said slapping him again.

"I never thought you would be the jealous type." he said laughing.

"What's so funny?" she asked him.

"Don't you see what they are doing? They are just trying to rile you up. For the fun of it."

"Why me? They could easily go after you. You're a new Victor too." she said.

"But I'm not as easily bothered by a certain things."

"What things?"

"It's just that...you're more…" She could tell he was searching right words to use. "…pure than the rest of us."

"I am not!" she retorted.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just the truth." he said. With perfect timing, the doors opened on the 12th floor as Katniss barged out. Gale chased after her. "Come on Katniss, I didn't do anything wrong." he said with a sigh. As she passed Haymitch, she heard him say "Another lover's quarrel?" She stopped momentarily to push him against the wall before making her way to her room. She shut the door behind her and locked it before getting into the shower. She unpinned her hair, throwing the hairpins to the corner of the shower and then worked on each braid until her hair was smooth. She was still fuming about what Gale had said. Whose side was he on, anyways? She pressed the Super Scrub button and let the shower clean her. She wished she didn't have to leave her room; that she could stay there for the night. They still had to watch the recap as a team.

Once out of the shower, Katniss quickly threw on some clothes and braided her hair before making her way to the Viewing Room. She was surprised when she found her and Gale were the only ones there.

"Katniss, I'm sorry." he said sympathetically.

"You were laughing at me." she said. That is what made her the most upset.

"No I wasn't. Listen, from now on just ignore them. They are just messing with you because you're the newest Victor." he said wrapping his arms around her waist.

"So are you."

"Yes, but you were the winner. Let's not fight anymore, at least not something as insignificant as this." he told her.

"Ok." she said. He leaned in closer for a kiss. Midway through, they were interrupted by a sound of disgust from Haymitch. Everyone in their team was filing in the room and took a seat on the couch as the recap began. Katniss wasn't really sure why they had to watch this. She just experienced it an hour ago; it's not like she forgot what happened. After the recap, Effie sent Gale and Katniss to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. They made their way down the hallway when they came to Gale's door. He opened the door and walked inside. She followed close behind.

"You're staying here tonight?" he said a little surprised.

"Yes, I thought you said I could. We had a deal, remember?"

"Oh, I thought you were mad at me still."

"No, you were right. It wasn't your fault they did those things." she said as she got into his bed. He turned off the lights and joined her.

* * *

(Gale POV)

Gale woke to the morning light filtering in through the window. He must have forgotten to close the curtains the night before. He smiled as he looked down to Katniss lying beside him.

"Katniss, wake up." he said softly trying to coax her out of her slumber. He said her name once more but she laid still. He noticed her mouth quickly twitch indicating that she might be faking her sleep. Gale moved his hand over her stomach to her side and started to lightly tickle her skin. Her face remained unchanged. _Wow, she's good_. He moved fingers at a quicker pace until he saw a smile show.

"Ok, ok I'm awake." she said as she laughed.

"Good morning, sweetheart." he said to her.

"Ugh, don't call me that. It reminds me of Haymitch." she said. He could feel her shudder.

"Then what should I call you?" he whispered in her ear followed by a kiss on her neck.

"I don't know." she replied.

"What about honey? Or sunshine? Or sweetie?" he asked, kissing her lips between each suggestion. Instead of giving an answer, Katniss just giggled. He should have known she wouldn't be one for pet names.

"What's wrong with Catnip?" she asked softly.

"That's more of a nickname. Plus, it's not very romantic." he told her.

"What do you know about romance?"

"Plenty." he said as his lips lingered over hers. He closed the space as his lips connected with hers, kissing her deeply.

Gale moved his hand under her shirt making his way from her waist up to her ribcage. His mouth pulled upwards to a smile through his kisses as he reached his destination. This time she didn't push him away or complain about the cold. He gently massaged her breast before tracing a circular pattern around the center with his thumb. She let out an approving moan as he moved his thumb over her now hardened nipple. Gale shifted his body so that he now hovered over her, contemplating his next move. A loud knock on the door made both of them jump.

"Breakfast is in 10 minutes!" they heard Effie call cheerfully through the door.

'_You've got to be kidding me_!' Gale thought as he let out a groan and collapsed on the bed beside Katniss. He was finally making some progress before Little Miss Capitol had to interrupt them. At least she didn't open the door like Haymitch always does.

"We'd better get ready." Katniss said pulling her shirt down. He watched as she got out of bed and left his room to go to hers. Gale laid in bed for a little longer before finally making his way to the bathroom for a ice cold shower. Maybe that would calm him down.

Breakfast was pretty uneventful. Most of it was Effie gushing about how popular District 12 was now. After they were finished eating, Effie escorted Katniss and Gale to the Training Room. Most of the Victors were already there, conversing with each other just as they were the night before. The head trainer announced the beginning of the training day, and the tributes dispersed to different stations. Gale and Katniss split up, as per Haymitch's instructions, to get to know the other Victors. Halfway into the morning, Gale couldn't help but notice that Finnick was talking to Katniss at the rope tying station. It looked like he was actually trying to help her, which made Gale wonder what his intentions were. Could a Career actually want to form an alliance with District 12? That would be a first.

When lunch rolled around, they left the Training Room for the adjoining cafeteria. Gale rejoined Katniss. Both were surprised when they saw the Victors pushing the separate tables together to form one long table. It was a total 180 from the previous year, when tributes sat either by themselves or with a small group. Gale couldn't help but smirk when he saw that Katniss chose the chair furthest away from Johanna Mason. She must still be angry with what she did the previous night. Yes, she was flirting with him, but Finnick was doing the exact thing to her and he didn't throw a fit over it.

When the training resumed, Katniss and Gale decided to stick together. The first station they went to was the obstacle course. He went first and did ok. He did fall down once, but there were some complicated parts to it. Then it was Katniss' turn. He watched as Katniss swiftly made her way through the each part with ease. She didn't move like that during last year's training sessions.

"You look like a Career." he said with a smirk.

"Well I have been training." she admitted. She must have read the confusion on his face. "Peeta started helping me after Snow read the Quell card." Gale stepped closer to her and lowered his voice.

"After I left…did anything happen between you two?" he asked nervously. He honestly didn't know how she was going to answer that question. It would have been understandable. She probably thought that he was gone forever. A part of him still hoped that her answer would be no.

"No, we are just friends." she told him. Gale breathed a sigh of relief. "Why? What do you think happened?"

"I don't know, I guess there were some things that made me unsure."

"What things?" Katniss asked.

"When I was going to the car, I saw him go into your room to say goodbye. And Haymitch said some things on the way to the train station."

"What did he tell you?" Katniss asked with her anger starting to show through.

"He told me that you and Peeta had been spending a lot of time together and had gotten _very close_ to one another."

"He's a drunk, Gale. Do you really expect him to know what is going on?"

"He seemed pretty sober when he told me."

"So you don't believe me?"

"No, I do. I just didn't know what to make of what he said."

"Well that was wrong of him to say those things. He has no idea what he's talking about."

"It's fine, let's just forget about it and pretend like it never happened." Gale suggested. He could tell that Katniss was worked up now.

"No, it's not fine and he shouldn't be left off the hook." Katniss said before walking away from him. Gale watched as she stormed out of the Training Room, most likely heading to the 12th floor.

* * *

(Katniss POV)

By the time the elevator reached the 12th floor, Katniss was livid. She searched the floor looking for Haymitch. She found him in his bedroom, pouring himself another drink. She cut off his greeting as she slammed him against the wall.

"Why did you tell him that?" Katniss shouted.

"What?" Haymitch asked in a stupor.

"The things you told Gale about Peeta and I!"

"Because I thought he should know what was going on while he was away." he said with a smile as he moved away from the wall.

"Nothing happened!"

"But it was pretty close from happening, wasn't it? That night before the Reaping, who knows what would have happened if I hadn't broken the two of you up."

"We were just having a little fight. Even friends fight."

"Well they certainly don't fight about feelings or kissing." he said with a laugh.

"He's just a friend."

"Are you telling me that or are you still trying to convince yourself?"

"He is!" she bellowed.

"Does he know you kissed him?" Haymitch asked. Katniss' mouth dropped open.

"How did you, how could have seen that?" she asked.

"I could see you from my kitchen window the day after the Tour ended. I'd thought you'd be more discreet than kissing him right on your front porch." he said.

"I thought he was dead." Katniss said, her mood switching from anger to melancholy. She sat down on a nearby chair. "Are you going to tell him?"

"No, but you really should sort out what bread boy is to you since you'll have to deal with him once you get out of the Games."

"It doesn't matter. I'm not getting out of there alive…not this time."

"Of course you are. That is the plan you agreed to."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I want Gale to win this time."

"What makes you think he'd allow it?"

"I know he won't. That's why I am telling you in private. We pretend to go along with his plan but really—"

"We carry out yours." he finished. "You sure that's what you want?"

"Yes."

"Ok, consider it done. We save the boy." he said, raising his drink in the air.

* * *

**Lots happened in this chapter...what was your favorite part? Let me know in the reviews! :)**


	19. The Last Night

**This Chapter is the longest chapter to date. Lots of things happen in this Chapter, be prepared (lots of Galeniss). Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 19

The week flew by like the blink of an eye. Training went well although Katniss was nervous about the upcoming Games. She had actually gotten to know the Victors this year and there were even some she enjoyed spending time with. How was she expected to kill them? Hopefully someone else would take care of that for her.

The private training was a bit of a disaster, at least from her team's eyes. Both Gale and her scored 12s on their sessions, but not based on skill. Katniss received hers from hanging a dummy from a noose and writing the words Seneca Crane on it with red dye. She wanted to let the Gamemakers know that she knew the inner workings of the Capitol. That he was executed after Snow found out about him falsely confirming Gale's death. Gale received his score of 12 after writing everything he hated about the Capitol on the Training Room floor. He then took a dummy that he marked with the word 'Capitol' and then set it on fire. Haymitch told them the only way they earned such high scores was so the other Victor would have no choice but to target them first.

Katniss was now lying in bed, with a combination of anxiety for the interviews tomorrow and fear of having another nightmare. Even though she had Gale beside her, he could always keep them away. She found herself thinking about Peeta and the things she didn't get to say to him. She remembered the phone in Haymitch' room and wondered if it still worked. With the time difference, Peeta could possibly be awake. It was worth a shot anyways. She made her way out of her room, down the hall, and into Haymitch's room. He was passed out face down on his bed.

Katniss tiptoed to the corner where the phone was and went through the menu options to dial to District 12. She then typed in the number to the bakery and hoped for the best. On the third ring, someone picked up.

"I'd like to speak to Peeta."

"He's sleeping. Try back later." the voice on the other end said. She knew it had be one of his brothers.

"No wait, it's important. It's Katniss Everdeen." she said hurriedly, before he could hang up.

"Oh, calling from the Capitol again?" the voice said amused.

"Yes, I need to talk to him. This may be my only chance."

"Ok, I'll get him." She waited a few minutes, before hearing Peeta's sleepy voice on the other end.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Peeta." she said softly.

"Katniss." he said with a sigh.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Are you using Haymitch's phone again?" he asked. She could hear him pull up a stool to sit on.

"Yes. He's asleep…for now."

"Did you have something to tell me?" Peeta asked her.

"I am calling to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" he asked with confusion.

"The plan has been set. Gale is coming home as Victor."

"Katniss, no." he said as his voice wavered. There was silence on the other end of the line followed by sniffling.

"Peeta, please don't." she said. The last thing she wanted to make him do was cry.

"Please come home Katniss. I promise, I'll never talk about us again. We can just be friends, just please, for me." he bargained with her.

"Peeta that's not why I'm doing this. Will you take care of Prim for me? Please?" He didn't respond, probably because of his crying. She felt her heart aching for him. Tears found their ways to the corners of her eyes and soon she was crying too. "Peeta?"

"Katniss I love you. And I know you don't love me but I had to tell you that. And how much I have enjoyed the past few months. I don't think I'll ever forget them…or ever forget you." She didn't know what to say to him. Her emotions always felt so confusing when it came to him. Plus, she was in love with Gale. She knew that for sure. But what was it about Peeta Mellark that pulled her in?

"Peeta, I…I'm sorry."

"No it's my fault really. I should have just stayed away from you. I should have just threw you the bread and forgot about you. We were never meant to be…anything." he said.

"Peeta—"

"I'll take care of Prim. Goodbye, Katniss." he said before she heard the phone hit the receiver. She drew in a few heavy breaths when she realized he was gone. He was out of her life for the rest of her life…not that there was much time left anyway. She made her way back to Gale's room, staying on her side of the bed as she buried her face into her pillow, wishing that things didn't have to be like this.

* * *

When Katniss woke up the next morning, she could hear Gale breathing. It seemed more labored than usual. She wondered if he was even awake. She decided to open her eyes just a sliver to see what was going on. Not that she would be able to see his face. Her chin was tucked towards her neck, pointing her eyes towards the end of the bed.

She was surprised when she went to take a peek. She could see his hand moving under the covers in an up and down motion. Her cheeks flushed when she realized what he was doing. She couldn't really believe that he was even doing that in front of her. Did he do this everyday before she woke? She then wondered how he'd react if she reached over and finished the job for him. She smiled a little as this dirty little thought crossed her mind. She had never had a thought like that before.

His breaths accelerated as the movement of hand quickened until he finally let out a stifled moan as he came. Katniss closed her eyes so he wouldn't be suspicious. He laid there for a minute, allowing himself time for his breathing to return to a regular pace. Katniss felt the bed shift as Gale climbed out of it and went towards the bathroom. She could hear the shower click on and thought about him standing there with the water cascading down his naked body. What would he do if she undressed herself and joined him? Her heartbeat quickened just at the thought of it. She continued to think about what would follow until she heard the water click off. She closed her eyes, feigning her slumber as her returned to the room. She heard some drawers open and closed as he dressed himself for the day. He returned to bed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Katniss, wake up." he whispered gently. She shifted slightly before slowly opening her eyes to make it convincing.

"What time is it?" she asked softly.

"Time to get up." he said playfully. "We have lot of preparations before tonight."

"Ugh, can't was just skip the interviews this year. Everyone knows who the Victors are anyway."

"Where would the fun in that be?" he asked.

"I wonder what angle Haymitch has thought for me this year." she said.

"You don't need an angle. You're the Girl on Fire." he told her. This made her smile. "Now go get ready. You don't want to be late for Effie." he told her. She groaned as she thought about spending multiple hours in same room with her Capitol escort. Gale walked her to her room and kissed her lips before walking towards the dining room.

* * *

The day dragged on as Effie and Haymitch scrutinized everything she did. She was almost relieved when she went to see the prep team. At least all of the painful stuff was over with them. She heard them conversing with each other about shortages that were occurring in the Capitol. Octavia complained that she couldn't get her special skin dye in her signature color, which explained why her skin had only a slight greenish tinge to it.

"Forget that! My dressmakers couldn't get the aqua fabric they needed to make my special birthday outfit. I had to wear turquoise! Can you even imagine?" Venia scoffed. Katniss had to refrain from offending her. Of course the Capitol citizens didn't really know what was going on. Those shortages sprung from the uprisings that must be occurring. She knew that wasn't a good sign for her. President Snow warned her about any more uprisings.

Cinna lugged in a garment bag and hung it on the hook. When he unzipped it, yards of white silk spilled onto the ground. As Cinna helped put it on, Katniss couldn't help but feel the weight pulling her down.

"How much fabric did you use?" she asked. She hoped she didn't offend Cinna. She loved all his designs and they always seemed to serve a purpose.

"As much as was necessary."

"No fire this time?" she asked.

"No, something better. Just remember to lift your arms when you twirl this time."

"When?"

"When the time is right." he said. He trusted that she knew when that would be. She looked in the mirror. It really was a pretty dress. It still seemed a little too fancy for the occasion. After all, it was just an interview. She made her way to the Training Center lobby and found Gale waiting for her in a black suit.

"You look beautiful." he said before kissing her cheek.

"You're looking good yourself."

"Katniss, there is something I have to tell you…about my interview tonight. Haymitch and I came up with a plan."

"What kind of plan?" she asked with confusion. She thought Haymitch was on her side.

"I can't tell you the specifics but I need to not looked shocked when I reveal it."

"So tell me what it is and I won't."

"I can't. You're going to have to trust me on this. It will help get us sponsors, just remember that, ok?" She nodded her head. A minute later, they were lined up and walked onto the stage to the sound of cheering Capitolites. The only thing going through Katniss' mind was what Gale was going to say to Caesar. She also wondered how Snow explained to the people that Gale was still alive. Perhaps tonight she would find out.

Katniss sat through the interviews, anxiously waiting her turn. The sooner she got in that chair, the sooner it would be over. This year the citizens of the Capitol seemed downright distraught during the interviews, crying out and sobbing as the favorite Victors made it to the stage, especially Finnick. She guessed after all those years of knowing the Victors they had grown attached. When it was her turn, the crowd erupted into a state of unrest. Even Caesar had a hard time getting them to settle down. Maybe they thought it was unfair that she was back so soon or the fact that the couple from District 12 would soon be broken up by the fate of the Games. Caesar shouted over the voices of the audience.

"Katniss Everdeen, Girl on Fire, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"You too Caesar, although I do wish the circumstances were different." she said in her sincerest voice.

"You know Miss Everdeen, I have been thinking all day about what Cinna has done to that dress of yours this time. Is there any magic for all of us tonight?" he asked with eagerness.

"Even I am in the dark for this one, Caesar." She then looked out to the audience and smiled coyly as she said, "Shall we find out together?" The crowd cheered loudly. She stood up and took a few steps forward before she lifted her arms and twirled. Instead of flames, thick smoked engulfed her. She wasn't sure if this was the desired result or if something was malfunctioning. She trusted Cinna though. She knew whatever was happening was the intent. She could smell the silk burn away from her body. The audience gasped and shrieked as they saw what was happening. She stopped spinning when she saw that the white silk had been replaced with dark grey fabric, scalloped in tiers with delicate white feathers cascading from her shoulders. As she looked at herself on the screens to the side of the stage, it was clear what Cinna had done. He had transformed her into a Mockingjay. Caesar stood and led her back to her seat. It was an interview after all.

"You look like you could fly away with all those feathers."

"I don't think there is that much magic in the dress, Caesar. I do understand it now. It looks like Cinna has transformed me into a Mockingjay." With those words, Caesar flashed her a look of shock and maybe a little fear as well. He quickly recovered.

"Ah, yes, you're District token from your first Games. How very fitting!" he said with an enthusiastic smile. The audience applauds at this. To them, it is just her District token. To everyone else, it's something more. It was the symbol of the rebellion and the hope for change. She couldn't help but have an uneasy feeling about this. Did Cinna know what he was doing? Caesar then applauded Cinna for his design and made the cameras pan to him to acknowledge him as the designer.

Caesar opened his mouth to ask another question but was interrupted by the sound of the buzzer. He thanked Katniss and dismissed her. She made her way back to her seat next to Gale. He took a few deep breaths before smiling as he was introduced to the audience. This was it. She only hoped that everything went well.

"Gale, I must say that I didn't expect to see you back here." Caesar said lightheartedly.

"No one was more shocked than myself."

Caesar recounted the story of how Gale managed to escape death in the Games. What Snow had told everyone was that the Capitol couldn't allow for him to die. Too many of the citizens were distraught to see him and Katniss separated when they knew they were meant to be together. Snow said he planned for a big reuniting celebration on the anniversary of his "death" and how all that changed after the reading of the card. Katniss couldn't believe that explanation. Did anyone actually believe that? Caesar carried on with the interview.

"It must have been hard for you, knowing that Katniss was mourning your death in District 12 when you were alive and well."

"Yes it was. All I wanted was to let her know that I was fine, that she didn't have to go through all that hurting. President Snow was kind enough to allow a private reunion during the end of her Victory Tour, though." he said with a smile. You never would have known it was a lie with the way he delivered it.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did the two of you do during your short time together."

"Well the first thing I did was to take her in my arms and tell her I love her." he said. Katniss could hear a chorus of awws from the audience. Even she couldn't help but smile. "We were just so happy to have each other back in our lives and I knew I never wanted to be without her again."

"But you were, when she left."

"Yes, and it was almost unbearable. Everything changed after the Quell card was read. The Capitol let me stay in the Seam with her as long as I managed to keep myself concealed." It was all one big lie, but she knew it was working…it's what the citizens of the Capitol wanted to believe. They loved the idea of love overcoming all obstacles. "I really do have to thank the Capitol for giving me those last few months with her. They were better than I could have ever expected."

"Oh really, how so?" Caesar asked leaning towards him.

"Caesar, are you aware of the toasting ritual of District 12?" he asked with a smile. Katniss' eyes widen when she realized what he was doing. He was tricking all of Panem to believe that they were married. She quickly smiled to not let the audience see her surprise as she heard Gale give a brief explanation of the toasting ritual.

"How is married life treating you?" Caesar asked enthusiastically.

"Good…until recently." Gale said with a sullen expression.

"Because of the fact that you'd both being going into the Quell?" Caesar guessed.

"No, because I didn't find out until I got to the Capitol…" he trailed off as his looked down, fidgeting with his hands. She knew he was doing this intentionally, to have the audience hang on his every word.

"Didn't find out what?" Caesar asked with confusion. Katniss watched as Gale slowly lifted his head toward audience, his face now filled with emotion.

"That she is pregnant." he said with a shaky voice. Katniss covered her mouth with her hand. She could hear the audience erupt with a variety of emotion. Some were shouting angry words, others were gasping and crying. Everyone was distraught with the news they just heard. Katniss leaned forward, covering her face with her hands as she played along. She could hear Caesar try to pacify the audience, but it was too late now. The bomb had been dropped and nothing could silence the citizens of the Capitol. The buzzer was now just a faint little sound in the background. Gale rushed to her side, and knelt down in front of her. He slid her hand away from her face and brushed away the tears that somehow found a way to her face before giving her a gentle kiss. The Anthem started blaring through the speakers to drown out the crowd. Katniss broke away from Gale and stood while it played. Everyone followed suit as they silently stood to hear the Anthem ring through the square. As soon as it ended, Gale rushed her back into the building. He took her straight to the roof, where they could talk about it without the Capitol overhearing.

"You're not mad, are you?" he asked with worry.

"No, but how did you think of it?"

"I had to figure out a way to make it so the other tributes wouldn't harm you once we are in the arena."

"Everything you said there was a lie…what do you think the Capitol is going to do?"

"Nothing. They can't say it was a lie. Everything works out perfectly between what Snow said and what I said."

"But the people in District 12 know what really happened."

"Well I don't think they are going to go around telling anyone." Gale said. He must have known she was stressed because he folded his arms around her, drawing her close.

"But everyone in Panem…they'll find out I'm not really pregnant." she said softly.

"You'll just tell them you lost the baby while you were in the arena. Don't worry, everything will work out." he told her quietly as he held her.

"I wonder what our families are thinking right now." Katniss said with a faint laugh. It was quite a lot of information to find out.

"Your mom especially." he snickered.

"She's probably having a fit." Katniss said nuzzling her nose against his. They both laughed.

"She'd have to realize that you were all grown up eventually." he said. Katniss' smile quickly turned into a frown.

"I don't want this to end…it's too soon." she said.

"I know, but the sooner it starts, the sooner I will get you out of there."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"Katniss."

"I don't want to lose you." she said as teardrops feel down her face.

"You will be fine."

"No I won't. You don't know. You weren't there after it happened. The way I felt…I didn't want to live without you."

"You have to go on this time." Gale told her.

"How?" she asked. Silence filled the air as she waited for an answer. Last year, he suggested Peeta Mellark as a solution. This year, she felt that he wasn't going to give the same advice.

"Just try to live your life." he said. It wasn't good advice but it was probably the only thing he could come up with. They were interrupted when they saw Haymitch walk towards them. They ended their embrace opting instead to hold hands.

"That went well." Haymitch said with satisfaction.

"What happens now?" Katniss asks.

"You act like your pregnant." Haymitch uttered.

"I know. But what about the other tributes? Do you really think that this will stop them from trying to off me?"

"Not all of them, but this could gain you some useful allies." Haymitch told them.

"What if we don't want allies?" Katniss said.

"You're going to need them this time. It's not like last time when you were going in there with amateurs. These tributes know a thing or two about killing."

"But I don't want them." Katniss said, a little more stubborn.

"You will have allies whether you like it or not." he told her. Katniss looked to Gale for support but she could tell from his expression that he was with Haymitch.

"Not you too." she said shaking her head.

"It's for the best, Katniss." he told her. She dropped his hand as she felt the betrayal sink in. What there anything else the two of them conspired about without her knowledge. She walked away from them, not wanting to continue this conversation.

She slammed the door and sat on the edge of her bed in the dark room, thinking about all the things that could go wrong with the whole allies thing. After she saw what Cato did to Glimmer, she couldn't help but worry that one of her allies could turn their back on her, even if they weren't a Career. She saw her door open and Gale walked slowly towards her. He joined her on the bed.

"I don't like it." she said.

"I know you don't." he said calmly. "Let's just try it out. If you get any bad feelings about any of the allies, we'll break off onto our own." he told her. This made her feel a little better, knowing that it wasn't set in stone. She stood up in front of him and leaned down for a kiss. She couldn't help but think that tonight was their last night together, alone anyway. There would be plenty of nights left with cameras on them continuously. She wanted to make their last moments of privacy count. His hands snaked around waist, pulling her closer to him.

"You're staying tonight, right?" Katniss asked sweetly.

"I'm surprised you even had to ask." he murmured as his lips grazed hers.

"You're a little overdressed for bed." she said taking a hold of the lapel of his jacket.

"So are you." he replied. He located the zipper on her dress and slowly pulled it downward while Katniss worked on his bowtie. She pulled his shirt out of his pants before she nimbly unbuttoned his shirt. Once she completed the task, she pushed the shirt and jacket off his shoulders. Gale removed them and threw them onto the floor.

She noticed the sultry look he gave her when her eyes met his. His hands cupped her face and she waited for him to draw closer to her. Instead, he sat there, taking in every part of that moment. Anticipation ran through her body, wanting more than just the contact of his hands on her cheeks. She wanted to become lost in his kisses, to escape the world they were currently a part of.

Katniss then felt the tension creeping up on her. Between the silence and prolonged eye contact, she felt out of her comfort zone, even though it was Gale. She nervously licked her upper lip, waiting for him to do something. That was another part of it. She wasn't one to make the first move. It was silly of her at this point. She knew how he felt about her. A seductive grin appeared on his face as he narrowed the distance between them. His mouth made contact as he position her upper lip between his and gently sucked on it. She felt a rush of pleasure course through her as she felt something awaken inside her. She had never longed for anyone the way she did now. He continued, each kiss growing more intense with each passing moment.

His fingers worked their way down to her shoulders before he gently slid the fabric away from her body. She dropped her hands down momentarily to free herself from the weight of the dress. Gale then wrapped his arms around her bare skin causing a wave of arousal to crash down on her. Even she wasn't aware that he could have this effect of her. She never thought she could ever want this.

"You're still way too overdressed." she purred into his ear. She could hear him kick off his shoes before his hands made their way to his belt. She watched as he fumbled with the buckle and she couldn't help but wonder if he was a little bit nervous. It was hard for her to imagine why. She knew he was not a stranger to bedding other girls; he admitted that to her long ago. He stood up briefly, letting his pants fall to the floor.

"Maybe I should go lock the door." Katniss murmured before moving toward the door, still in her heels. Once she clicked the lock into the place, she strutted back to her bed where he was waiting her, as he laid atop the sheets. Katniss kicked off her shoes before joining him. This time, she didn't wait for him to initiate anything. It was about time for her to take control of what she wanted…him.

She pressed her lips to his; eager to reignite the passion she had felt just minutes before. As she kissed him, her hand traveled south, eventually reaching the fabric of his underwear. This time, she had no intention of pulling away like she did in the cabin. Instead, she gently stroked him, as she felt his erection grow more and more pronounced. She could feel his moans vibrate through her, as their lips remained locked with one another's. Katniss climbed on top of him, unable to control herself any longer. She felt a prickling sensation as he moved his fingertips down her sides. His hands finally rested on her butt before he pressed her firmly against him. Katniss let out a gasp, as she had not expected this from him. A devilish smile appeared on his face, indicating that two could play at this game.

He shifted around so that he was on top of her. He started slow, kissing her neck and moving down to her collarbone. Her heartbeat accelerated even faster when she felt his hand slide beneath her back to unhook her bra, eliminating any barrier from his exploration. He rubbed her nipple between his first two fingers until it rose to a small mound upon her breast. Just when she thought he was moving on, she felt his mouth make contact, flicking his tongue against the now hardened peak. Next, he gently pressed it between his teeth, causing her to shout his name into the silence. She slightly blushed, embarrassed by her erratic behavior.

"I like it when you shout my name like that." he whispered in her ear. This made her blush deeper. Was Gale Hawthorne talking dirty to her? "Should I keep going?" he asked her as he played with the lace trim on her panties. She smiled wildly as she nodded her head. She couldn't believe that she was going to do this tonight…with him. She lifted her pelvis upwards, allowing for him to remove the last bit of fabric that was covering her. A smile appeared on his face as he took in her naked body.

"You're so beautiful." he said in a soothing voice. She didn't know how to respond to that so she just smiled back. He made a trail of kisses starting at the base of her neck. As he made his way downward, her breathing accelerated. His mouth parted from her stomach, and then made contact on her inner thigh. How far down was he planning on going…to her feet? She felt his warm breath between her legs before he began exploring her with his tongue. Katniss tugged his hair and let out an exasperated gasp, shocked from the unexpected movement. This caused Gale to half-laugh and half-moan sending vibrations up and down her body. She could feel herself getting wetter with each movement. Her breathing became more ragged as she experienced his tongue moving in various patterns. She didn't know much more she could take before being sent over the edge.

"What are you trying to do, torture me?" she panted. She wanted him inside of her immediately.

"I thought I'd take it slow with you. That is what you wanted, right?" he asked her. He must have thought that he was moving too fast before, during their time in the woods. She didn't blame him; she had been a little off-putting.

"We don't have time for that." she said as she looked hungrily into his eyes. He kissed her passionately, with the taste of her still on his lips. He had finally understood what she expected to happen between them that night. She gently broke away and slid out from under him.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Just need to get something." she told him. She reached into the side table drawer and pulled out a small blue vile.

"What is that?" he asked curiously.

"Effie gave it to me after she saw us sneaking into each other's rooms. I kept it just in case I needed to use it." she said coyly. She removed the lid and shot back the liquid contraceptive. She then returned to Gale's arms, ready for what was to follow. He rolled her on to her back and he pressed his body against her once more.

"I think it's time to lose these, Mr. Hawthorne." she said playfully tugging at the band of his underwear.

"I'll let you do the honors." he murmured. She placed a hand on each side of the band and slowly moved the pants down his legs down towards his knees. She then placed her foot between his legs and pushed the fabric downward until it was freed from his body.

"You sure you've never done this before?" he asked with a raised brow.

"You think that because I could easily remove your underwear?" she said with a laugh.

"No it's the way you did it. I'm not going to lie…it was kind of hot." he said as his voice deepened. She reached behind his neck and pulled him to her to initiate a kiss. Her hips buckled as she felt him brush up against her. She then felt him glide inside her, filling up her space. A cry escaped her when she felt his hips connect with hers.

"Are you ok?" he asked with a look of concern.

"Yes, it's fine. It just hurts a little." she admitted through her gasps.

"Then we'll take it slow. Just try to relax. It helps." he said giving her advice. Katniss took a few deep breaths to calm her and she could feel her muscles start to relax. He kissed her neck as he gently thrust himself into her in slow movements. As the minutes passed by, she could feel his pace start to quicken. The pain smoothly melted away as her desire for him took over. His touch felt electrifying as his hands surveyed her body. She closed her eyes as she listened to him moan her name with quickened breaths. From there, everything seemed like a blur of emotions. She even started to wonder if what she was feeling was natural or if there was something else laced in with the liquid contraceptive. She had never felt this way in her life. Is this what she had been missing out on for all this time? She should have let Gale have his way with her a long time ago. She wanted this to last forever but her body soon gave way.

"Gale, it's happening." she moaned as she arched her back. She felt her muscles tighten around him as a wave of ecstasy washed over her. He continued thrusting into her until he had reached his peak, spilling himself inside of her. He withdrew from her and collapsed beside her as he tried to calm his breathing. Katniss cuddled up to him as they laid on their sides, staring at each other with smiles of their faces. No words were needed to communicate what they already knew: that they loved each other and what they had was something special. He leaned closer to her and lightly kissed her forehead. Gale was the first to break the silence.

"So what did you think?" he asked.

"I think I should have let you do that a lot sooner." she hummed with satisfaction.

"Well I can't say I didn't try." he said with a smirk.

"We need to think of a way to get us both out of there." she said changing the subject. As she had been staring at him before, she thought about how she didn't want this to end; not when they were so far at the beginning of what could be.

"I know. I'm still trying to think of something." he admitted.

"And what if we can't think of something in time?"

"Then we stick to the plan. I do everything I can to get you out of there. That's what I'll be doing anyway." he said stroking her hair. Her eyes averted him as she thought about how that option was no good. He wouldn't be with her. "It's late Katniss, we should get some sleep…for tomorrow." he said. She knew he said this to get away from the topic, that he knew what she would say next. She wanted to be the one to save him. Gale drew the covers around them before he closed his eyes. Katniss watched him as he drifted off. She gently combed his hair with her fingers and then traced his jaw line.

"I will save you. No matter what." she quietly stated to her slumbering lover. She would never give up on Gale Hawthorne. No one could ever convince her otherwise.

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**Yeah, Katniss and Gale finally had sex ****(I know a lot of you were waiting a long time for that to happen)**. What did everyone think? I've never written anything like that before so some feedback would be nice. Did you like this chapter? 

**Also, the Games start next Chapter so get ready for that. There will be a lot of twists and turns!**


	20. The Games

**Hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews (over 200 already! wow!). The Games begin in this chapter...same Arena concept, but I am planning on changing what happens in some parts of the Arena. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games of any of its characters.

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Chapter 20

The next morning Katniss woke to a banging on her bedroom door. She squinted her eyes as they adjusted to the bright light that shown in her room. When she got out of bed to answer it, she realized she was still naked from the night before. She grabbed the blanket at the edge of her bed and wrapped it around her as she made her way to see who was there. She opened the door to find a seething Haymitch.

"Meet me by the elevators in 15 minutes." he told her.

"What's wrong?" she asked confused.

"I've been knocking on your door for the past 10 minutes."

"I couldn't hear you." she said to him.

"Yeah well maybe if you were up so late messing around with your fellow tribute, you might have actually been up." he said. She wasn't sure if he knew because he heard them last night or if he guessed that much from her current state.

"I'm sorry." she muttered.

"We're leaving in 10 minutes. I suggest you wake him up as soon as possible." he said before walking away. Katniss close the door and ran over to her Gale.

"Gale, wake up." she said lightly shaking his shoulder.

"Hey." he said before pulling her on top of him.

"Gale, stop, we have to get ready to go." she told him climbing out of bed. "We've overslept and already pissed off Haymitch. I suggest you get in the shower." she said walking away from him towards her own bathroom. She walked inside the shower and pressed her usual setting. The water began trickling down her body. She was surprised she found Gale joining her.

"Gale!"

"What? You said to get in the shower."

"Yeah, your own shower." she huffed.

"It will be fine." he said rolling his eyes as he went to the control panel. He hit a few buttons and some extra gadgets popped out the wall.

"What did you do?" she asked with confusion.

"Set it to a two person shower." he said with a smirk. She guessed that it was common for couples to share a shower in the Capitol if they had a setting on their showers just for that. She felt Gale pull her closer as he began to kiss her. She pushed him away from her after the shower clicked off.

"Gale, we don't have time for this." she said quietly.

"I know." was all he said. She left the shower and found two neat piles at the edge of her bed. Did everyone know they spent the night together last night? She found her pile and dressed herself before Gale came into the room. He did the same and then they walked down the hall to meet Haymitch. He quietly led them to the roof of the Training Center where Cinna and Portia were waiting for them.

"Well this is it." Haymitch said.

"How will we know who our allies are?" Katniss asked him.

"You'll know it when you see it." was all he told her. "Good luck." He then did something very surprising and hugged each one of them. He had really come a long way since last years Games. Katniss felt Gale pull her into an embrace. She forgot that this was goodbye for them as well.

"I'll see you in a little." he whispered to her.

"Sounds good." she whispered back. She broke his embrace and went to Cinna. She didn't feel like being drugged like she was last year when she refused to let go of him. A Peacekeeper inserted her tracker and then led her and Cinna to their cabin on the plane. They were served a large breakfast which she quickly consumed. She then leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes as she mentally prepared herself for what she was about to face in less than one hour's time. She must have drifted off because when she woke, her head was resting against Cinna's shoulder.

"Tired?"

"I was up late last night." she said, not going into any details. "What do you think it's going to be like this year?"

"It's a Quell year so it will be more elaborate then the other Games."

"Do you remember what it was like…the last one?" she asked him.

"I was just a little kid but I remember there was a lot more mutts and a lot more traps." Katniss covered her face with her hands and leaned forward. "You're going to fine, Katniss. You're better than all of them, just remember that." he said rubbing his back.

"You don't need to lie to cheer me up." she said.

"It's the truth though. Most of those tributes rely on one strength while you are versatile. Gale's the same, too. You both have learned how to adapt to survive." he told her. She guessed he was right.

"Thank you." she said sincerely as she looked up at him. She felt the plane start to descend, making her nervous. She hated this part. At least Cinna didn't laugh at her this time. They made their way to the Launch Room under the Arena, where he helped dress her in this year's outfit. Cinna pondered as he touched the material.

"It's probably going to be somewhere hot, maybe some water too judging by the lightweight material." he told her.

'_At least we know how to swim_.' she thought. He then pulled her Mockingjay pin from his pocked and attached it to her. A voice rang through the audio system announce the 30 second mark. She embraced Cinna tightly.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me this year; and not just the outfits and the hair and makeup. Thank you for just being there when I needed it."

"It was an honor." he told her.

"Please remember me." she whispered as tears streamed down her face. He broke away from her with a confused look on her face. He must not have known what the plan was. "I'm not coming back this time…Gale is." She could tell this upset him.

"I could never forget you, Girl on Fire." he said with a smile as he brushed her tears away and hugged her one last time. Katniss walked to the clear tube that would raise her up into the Arena. The tube sealed itself and she took a deep breath to keep her calm. The countdown reached zero, but the plate under her did not move. Cinna exchanged a confused look with her. Katniss jumped up and down thinking it would trigger something but she remained below ground.

Suddenly the door opened and three Peacekeepers came in the room. '_Good, they are there to fix it_.' she thought. Instead something else happened. Something she would never have seen coming. They walked to Cinna and handcuffed his hands behind his back. Fear spread through her body. Why were they arresting him? It finally click in her head…it was her interview costume. It was downright treasonous what he did, using her district token, the Mockingjay, which had become the symbol of the rebellion that was brewing among the districts. She was even more alarmed when she saw them pull out their peace clubs and started repeatedly beating him over and over again. Katniss pressed herself against the tube and screamed his name over and over. She doubted he could hear her. He was now collapsed on the ground. The largest Peacekeeper pulled out a knife and ran it along his throat, causing his blood to rush out of him. She was crying violently as she used her fists to try to break through the glass. She felt the plate abruptly start to move her upwards. She stood up straight and wiped her tears with her sleeve before she reached the surface.

The sunlight was intense, and she found herself needing more time than usual for her eyes to adjust. Once they did, she saw that she was surrounded by water. Every tribute was. It looked like a long swim to land. She wondered how the other tributes were going to make it there. As she waited for the countdown, her mind went back to Cinna. She remembered the fear she saw in Caesar Flickerman's eyes when he realized what Cinna had done. He must have known that Cinna would pay for that. Snow of course waited for the perfect time to execute him…at a time where she would need her strength and composure more than ever. She still didn't know how she was standing at the moment. All she wanted was to lie down and cry. She didn't move though. She couldn't let them think she was trying to get an early start. The Gamemakers would kill her for sure.

As soon as the countdown ran out, her legs gave way as she collapsed to the plate, bawling. She wanted to be strong, for Cinna, but she couldn't control her emotions. He was the only person from the Capitol that she loved. Why did they have to take him away from her? She stayed there crouched on the plates for minutes, letting the sadness drain from her. Then her mind went to Gale. He was probably on the beach by now, waiting for her. She looked up and saw over half the tributes were still on their plates, unsure what to do. She looked in front of her and saw Finnick Odair swimming towards her. _Shit._ Maybe that was his strategy; to swim out to the plates and drown his victims one by one. When he got close to her plate, she used her leg to kick her away from him. She didn't retract her leg in time, causing Finnick to pull her into the water with him. She struggled, trying to get away from him, but she couldn't break free. She wouldn't give up though; she had to get to Gale.

"Katniss, stop! I'm not trying to kill you!" he said to her. She didn't stop her flailing until a flash of gold on his wrist caught her eye. She remembered Effie saying something about everyone in the team wearing something gold to unify them. She grabbed his wrist and inspected the bracelet. It looked just like the one that Effie gave to Haymitch.

"Now do you believe me?" he said.

"Yes."

"Come on, Gale and Mags are waiting for us. Race you!" he said with a wink before he started swimming off. Katniss quickly started her stroke, gliding through the water after Finnick. She knew she'd never win but the competitive edge in her convinced her to at least try. She only reached the shore seconds after Finnick did. Not bad, considering she wasn't suppose to know how to swim at all. Gale rushed to her and took her in his arms.

"What happened out there?" he asked.

"Cinna…he's dead." she whispered quietly in his ear. He pressed her closer to his body and whispered 'I'm sorry.'

"Come on you two, it's not safe here." he said pointing towards the water. Other tributes were making their way to shore. The four of them quickly made their way to the Cornucopia to get some provisions. Some Careers were already there fighting with other tributes that had gotten there first. Mags hid behind a bush while the three of them went in to grabs some weapons. Katniss quickly found a bow but then found herself cornered by male tribute from District 5. Gale quickly swooped in and stabbed him with a spear. Katniss and him collected useful weapons as Finnick managed to fight both Careers from District 1.

"Where are the supplies?" she asked in a panic as she searched for food or backpacks filled with essentials.

"Looks like they are mixing it up this year. Only weapons." Gale fumed. They collected as many they could carry and joined Mags to drop them off before returning to Finnick. Just their presence intimidated Cashmere and Gloss, as they escaped into the jungle. The trio returned to Mags and armed themselves as Gale explained that there were only weapons in the Cornucopia this year. They walked into the jungle in the opposite direction of District 1 tributes.

"We need to find water." Finnick said as they ascended the upward slope. Gale led the way up the incline followed by Finnick and Mags with Katniss following behind. She was glad she had been training with Peeta. Between the steep slope and the heaviness of the air, it was a difficult trek. She wondered how Gale managed to set the pace. A mile up, the ground started to level off. Katniss climbed a nearby tree to get a view of the Cornucopia while the others rested at the bottom. She could see the bloodbath still happening below along the shore of the beach. She didn't know how the Victors could easily turn back to their old ways of killing. They knew each other. Some of them were even friends. Her expression must have reflected this when she reached the base of the tree.

"What's happening?" Finnick asked.

"The bloodbath is still happening." she said. Finnick gave a smug look.

"What did you expect?"

"Not that." she simply said.

"You know how it is in here Katniss. It's kill or be killed." he told her. Maybe she should take him out right now, if that was the case. He was too much of a threat to keep around. Eventually, Finnick would break the alliance. She wondered how long it would take to load her bow. Of course he was already armed with his signature trident. He'd probably beat her to it. But still, maybe she could. Then Gale stepped between them, breaking their calculated stares at each other. '_No, move Gale!_' she thought.

"Did you see how many died?" he asked.

"Six or seven…I don't really know."

"Come on, let's go. We need to put as much distance between us as we can." Gale said. They continued their journey through the dense jungle trekking in the same order as before. Katniss looked around, taking in the unfamiliar environment. It looked so different from the woods in District 12. Her thoughts were interrupted when she tripped over the heap of people in front of her. What had happened? Finnick and Mags looked fine but Gale was lying unconscious.

"Gale!" she shouted as she rushed to his side. She shook him but he wouldn't wake. He remained still. She put her cheek near his mouth, waiting to feel his breath or see the rise and fall of his chest. There was nothing. She moved south, placing her ear against his chest, hoping for at least a heartbeat. Again, there was nothing. "Gale, no!" she shouted as she went into hysterics. She felt Finnick try to peel her off of Gale. She tried to fight him off but he was too strong. He took her over to Mags and told her to keep her there. She watched as Finnick approached Gale and kneeled beside him. What was he doing? Was this a trap? Did Finnick do this to him when she wasn't looking? Nothing made sense.

"Katniss, stay where you are. He hit a force field." Finnick quickly explained. She then saw him lower his mouth to Gale's. What on Earth was he doing? At first it appeared as if he was going to kiss him, until he pinched Gale's nostrils together. She watched as he breathed air into Gale. She had never seen anyone do this before. He then moved down to his chest, making compressions with the heel of his palm. Whatever he was doing, it looked like he had done this before. She watched as he repeated the sequence. Two breaths followed by 30 compressions. With each minute that passed, Katniss started losing hope. He was gone, for real this time. She brought her knees towards her chest and pressed her face into them as the tears started to flow, followed by the painful gasps she made as she tried to take in air. She could feel Mags hand rubbing in a circular motion on her back.

Suddenly, she heard a loud gasp, followed by coughing. Katniss quickly looked up to see Gale slowly sitting up. She ran over to him and brought him closer to her.

"Gale."

"It's fine, I'm fine. It was the force field. It knocked me out."

"You died! Your heart stopped!" she told him.

"It did?" he asked with confusion.

"Yes. Don't ever do that to me again. You scared me half to death." she said, still shaking as the heavy sobbing continued.

"Katniss are you ok?" he asked her. Of course she wasn't. She just saw her biggest fear happen, losing him.

"She'll be fine. It's just the hormones…from the baby." Finnick said.

'_Oh yeah, I'm pregnant_.' she thought. "Yeah, it must be that." When she finally calmed down, she asked Finnick how he knew what to do.

"Everyone in District 4 knows CPR…being by the water, we have a lot of near drownings. It can help save someone if they stop breathing." he told her. She wondered how they came up with that. How long have they known how to do that?

"Come on, let's go." Finnick said to all of them.

"No, he needs to rest." Katniss said.

"He'll be fine." Finnick replied. She gave him a look of contempt.

"Katniss, I'm fine." Gale reassured her. She didn't believe him but she knew that Gale would be too stubborn to admit how he really felt. He didn't want to look weak in front of their allies. Katniss gave in but insisted that she would take the lead. She didn't want to risk Gale running into the force field again and she didn't trust Finnick to lead to them to who knows where. They continued their journey, still searching for water. Katniss could already feel the effects. She felt like dehydration would come earlier than in the previous arena. It was so hot. A few miles into their walk, she collapsed to the ground. Gale rushed to her.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"I feel dizzy." Katniss said.

"You need water." he said quietly. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find something soon." He helped her up and insisted on walking beside her, with his hand in hers. She wished it were just the two of them; that the tributes from District 4 weren't with them. If they weren't, though, he would be dead. She hated that Finnick had to save him. Now she owed him. As they walked, they heard the cannons go off, indicating the end of the blood bath. Eight shots were fired. They walked until sunset and they found a little area that would make a good camp for the night. She just hoped no other tribute would find them. Katniss insisted on taking first watch once darkness fell. The other three laid down on the ground and shut their eyes. About six hours in, Finnick woke up and sat beside her. He waited a few seconds before he spoke.

"Katniss, you have to start trusting me." he said quietly.

"I do trust you." she said in the most convincing voice she could manage.

"Yeah, you trust me about as far as you could throw me." he said with a laugh.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because, I'm not the enemy here." he told her. "I was thrown into this situation, just like you were."

"But you're a Career."

"So? What does that matter? We're no different that anyone else." he said. Katniss rolled her eyes. "What if I was from District 8 or District 11? Would you trust me then?"

"Maybe." she admitted.

"I can't help where I'm from, Katniss. None of us can. If you want to judge me based on my character, that's fine but don't you dare just write me off as another Career tribute." he said. She could tell he was annoyed.

"You need to prove to me that I can trust you."

"Ok, then let me take over for you." he said.

"Ok." she said slowly. She felt uncertain about this.

"I'm not going to do anything to you or your husband, if that's what you're worried about." She felt her heart jump when he said the word 'husband'. It was the first time she had heard anyone refer to Gale in that way.

_'My husband_.' she thought. A smile spread on her face. She kind of liked the thought of Gale being her husband. Even if it was wasn't real. "Goodnight." she said to Finnick before walking over to Gale. She lightly woke him up and motioned towards Finnick. Gale nodded his head and kissed her cheek before walking over to Finnick. She lay facing them and listened to their conversation.

"I should have known she wouldn't let me take over by myself." Finnick said with a laugh.

"It's hard for her to trust other people." Gale told him.

"Doesn't help that I'm a Career." he said with disdain in his voice.

"I don't blame her after what happened to her last year."

"My tributes didn't go near either of you last year. We're not like the other two Career districts." Katniss had forgotten that Finnick was a Mentor in last year's game. Maybe that's how Haymitch knew to trust him.

"It doesn't matter to her."

"How did you get her to trust you?" Finnick asked him.

"It took a while, and a very embarrassing incident." he said. He must have been thinking back to the anthill. That melted away the close guard she had put up against him in the beginning.

"Unfortunately, time isn't something I have in here." Finnick told him.

Katniss tried to hold on but she felt herself falling slowly towards sleep. The last thing she remembered was hearing the two boys laughing about something. Great, Finnick had won over Gale. She knew this was going to make things more difficult. The alliance was now set. She'd never get away from the Victors from District 4.

* * *

**So what do you think of the Games so far? Anyone want to make some Quarter Quell predictions?**


	21. The Fog

**It's the second day of the Games. Hope you like this chapter. BTW, I really like having Finnick in the story now...it's fun to write scenes with him.**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 21

When Katniss woke up, she saw Gale was still keeping watch. Finnick must have gone back to sleep. She walked over to Gale and sat in his lap.

"Good morning." he said with a smile before giving her a kiss.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked.

"Better. And how about you? How are you feeling?" he asked placing his hand over her stomach. She kept on forgetting to sell the whole pregnancy thing. At least Gale remembered to bring it up.

"I'm feeling a little nauseous, but other than that, I'm ok." she said playing along. "I was actually thinking about going to search for some food."

"Not by yourself you're not."

"You need to rest, and besides, we can't have Finnick and Mags think we abandoned them."

"Then take Finnick with you."

"Do I have to?"

"You shouldn't be alone out there. We still don't know what else is roaming this jungle."

"Fine." she gave up. She went over to Finnick and lightly kicked his side.

"Ow!" Finnick exclaimed.

"Get up; we're going hunting." she said to him. He followed orders and gathered his things. They said goodbye to the others and made their way down the hill. Katniss crept quietly through the jungle, searching for any sign of life. Finnick followed. She didn't like the idea of him being out of her sight but she knew he didn't have any experience hunting. Every few steps she'd look back to make sure he wasn't doing anything suspicious.

"Trust, Katniss, remember?" he told her.

"You're not there yet."

"What do I have to do for you? Tell me and I'll do it." he said. "I'm not the enemy."

"Yeah, you've already said that."

"Well it's true."

"Everyone in here is the enemy. Don't you understand that? That's all we can ever be in this stupid competition."

"There is so much you don't understand." he said with a laugh.

"Why, because I haven't been a Victor for as long as you have?"

"If you only knew what's really going on." he said with a sly smile.

"Tell me." she said. She watched as Finnick walk closer to her with a sparkle in his eyes. She didn't like this side to him; it was just like he was on the night of the Opening Ceremony. She felt her back rest against a tree as she tried to back away from him. He had her cornered. Maybe this was a trap, or maybe something else. He leaned closer to her, bringing his mouth to her ear.

"If I'm going to tell you one of my secrets, I'm going to need to hear one of yours." he whispered seductively. What was it with him and secrets? What did they do for him? She had plenty of secrets she could tell him but that would be no good. If something happened to their alliance, it would only screw her over. "I bet you are full of secrets, Katniss Everdeen. I can see it in your eyes." he said now gazing at her. She couldn't believe what Finnick was doing. She wouldn't let it work on her.

"Is this how you always gather your information? Do you seduce it out of people?"

"Only when it's absolutely necessary." he whispered in a low voice.

"And you think that will work on me?"

"It's a lot more fun trying with you. It usually isn't this difficult for me to get what I want." he said playing with the end of her braid. She pulled it away from him and then used all her strength to push him to the ground. She quickly retrieved her bow and loaded it with an arrow.

"Katniss, I'm sorry." he said in a panic. She could see the fear in his eyes. It was definitely genuine. "Please, please don't kill me." As he begged for his life, Katniss realized what she was about to do. She wasn't like everyone else here. She wasn't a killer. She lowered her weapon and helped him up.

"Please don't tell Gale." she said. Great, now he had leverage on her. That could be bad.

"I won't. I promise." he said, his tone more gentle. They started to walk back to their camp. They figured their fighting had scared any game away.

"You know Katniss, there is a lot you don't know about me." he said.

"You've been in the spotlight long enough for me to get a pretty good idea who you really are. It's been 10 years, right?"

"Yes." he said. He grabbed Katniss' hand, stopping her. She quickly pulled her hand away from his. "Katniss there's something you need to know about me."

"What?" she asked. He leaned close to her and covered her ear with his hand. She decided to allow it this time.

"Everything you know about me is a lie." he whispered. She stepped back and gave him a confused look.

"Like what?" she asked.

"_Everything_." was all he said. This intrigued her. She wanted to know more. Maybe one day he would tell her. They walked back in silence. When they returned, they saw Gale shelling some nuts he found while Mags was weaving some bowls out of the sturdy jungle grasses.

"Where'd you find those?" Katniss asked sitting next to Gale.

In that tree over there." Gale said pointing to the tree to his right.

"You think they are safe?" she asked, holding one in her hand.

"I ate one about a half hour ago and I'm fine." he told her. She gave him a displeased look. The last thing she needed was to have him die in the arena by eating something unfamiliar. "I take it you didn't find any game."

"No." she said with defeat.

"It will be fine. At least we found some sort of food source." Gale said.

"What about water. If we don't find that, we're as good as dead." she said. Then Katniss had an idea. She walked to the tallest tree around and started climbing.

"Katniss, what are you doing?" Gale asked with concern.

"Something I should have done a long time ago." she said. She climbed higher than she probably should have but she needed to reach the top. She needed a bird's eye view of the arena. As she clung to the swaying branch at the top of the tree, she saw the arena before her. It was a complete circle that consisted of nothing but jungle, beach, and saltwater. She made her way down and told the others about his discovery.

"There is no water. At least none that we can drink." As if on cue, a parachute fell from the sky. Maybe Haymitch had finally had some sense to send them some water, even if it was just a little. She ran to the container and opened it. Inside was not water but a metal object with a hole on one end with a tapered lip on the other. She asked if it looked familiar; all three shook their heads. Katniss leaned back on the base of a tree and studied it, turning it in different directions. She knew Haymitch had sent it for a reason…something to do with water. His gifts always seemed to arrive at the right moment. It had to have something to do with water. When she covered a portion on it, she thought it looked vaguely familiar. Suddenly the answer clicked. _A spile_.

"Finnick, cut into the side of that tree." Katniss said as she walked over to him.

"Why?

"Just do it." she told him. Finnick grabbed a knife and twisted it into the smooth bark. Once he had cut a couple of inches in, Katniss jabbed the spile into the tree with all her might. Finnick helped her screw it into the tree until water started to flow. Gale and Mags joined them as they each took turns taking drinks from the tap. After their thirst had been quenched, they each stood under the tap and rinsed the sweat and dirt that had accumulated on her body over the past day. When they were finished using the spile, Finnick pulled it from the tree and gave it to Katniss to keep safe.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing. They figured they should get as much rest as they could before the Gamemakers started intervening. The four of them switched off on who would guard their camp while the others slept.

Nightfall came and the arena remained silent. No one had perished that day so there was no Anthem or projections in the sky. Katniss took the first watch shift of the night. Several hours into her shift, she started to feel her eyelids gravitating downward. She was made alert when she heard a loud gong resonating throughout the Arena. It repeated eleven more times. She wondered what this could have meant. Maybe the 12 gongs represented the 12 Districts of Panem. Or maybe the Gamemakers wanted them awake. Then, she saw lightning flash in the sky, hitting a tree in the distance causing it to ignite. More lighting followed, lighting up the sky. Katniss watched as the jagged patterns flashed in the dark night. When the lightning storm ended, rain followed. After an hour, the rained ceased without reaching them. It must have been the Gamemakers controlling the weather. Katniss continued to look in the direct of the rainstorm, waiting to see if the rain would start again. Instead, she saw the fog starting to roll in. It slowly crept towards her in a wall that towered high into the trees. There was something not right about the way it was progressing towards her. It was too uniform. This could only mean one thing. The Gamemakers had created this fog.

She thought back to the fog last year that blinded her, causing her to lose Gale in the forest. She didn't want to find out what the fog did this time. She quickly ran to group and violently shook each one to wake them up.

"Get up, we have to run!" she shouted.

"Katniss? What's going on?" Gale asked as he became more alert.

"The fog. It's coming towards us." Gale and Finnick quickly sprung to their feet and Finnick helped Mags up. Finnick lifted Mags and they started to run downhill. The faster they ran, the quicker the fog seemed to travel. Finnick was starting to fall behind.

"Finnick, hurry!" Katniss called to him.

"I'm running as fast as I can." he told her. It must have been difficult for him to run with the weight of another person. Katniss could hear Mags tell Finnick to put her down. Katniss wasn't sure why she had done this. There was no way that Mags could keep up with them. Finnick listened to her, though. Gale and Katniss waited for them. She was surprised when she saw Mags kiss Finnick's cheek before running towards the fog.

"Mags, no!" he shouted as he started to chase after her. Gale caught him and held him back, telling him they had to keep going. Gale pushed him to running start down the hill. They could hear Mags' shrieks as they ran away. A minute later, a cannon fired. Mags was dead. Finnick slowed his pace. He was obviously upset. He then stopped running altogether.

"Finnick, we have to keep going." Katniss said with determination.

"You go without me." he told them.

"We're not leaving without you." Gale said. They each took a hand and led Finnick down the path. They weren't as fast as before and the fog eventually caught up with them. All three of them cried in pain as the fog permeated their skin. It felt as though Katniss was being stabbed and lit on fire, all that the same time. They tried to keep on running but the fog was affecting their muscle control. Katniss could feel her muscles go into spasm before she lost control. She collapsed to the ground, as did Gale and Finnick.

"Gale." she croaked as she crawled closer to him. She didn't stop under she was cuddled next to him.

"Katniss, you have to keep going." he said.

"I'm not leaving you." she told him.

"Then we'll both keep going. Can you walk?" he asked her. She shook her head. "Then we'll roll down the hill. You too, Finnick." he said hitting Finnick's arm. They all started rolling their bodies down the decline. They soon picked up momentum and found themselves being hurled forward, eventually passing the fog. Then, they started to crawl away, not wanting the fog to make contact with them again. Suddenly the fog dissipated into the sky. Katniss wondered why the Gamemakers would make it stop. They should have just finished them off. Maybe they had bigger plans for them down the line. They continued crawling until they found themselves on the white, sandy beach.

Katniss pulled herself closer to the water, looking for relief from her blistering skin. As she her arm made contact with the water, she felt a burning pain hit her. She continued to hold it down, waiting for relief. Eventually, it came, as she watched white wisps flow from her skin into the water. The pain also seemed to disappear. She slowly sat up and scooted herself into the water. She watched as the ocean water drew the poisonous fog from her skin. It was excruciatingly painful, but she started to feel better. She looked to her right and saw that Gale had followed suit. All that she had left to do was to dunk her head under the water. She leaned forward and screamed as her face hit the water. This part hurt most of all. She came back up gasping for breath. She then removed what was left of her jumpsuit to reveal the tank top and shorts she had underneath. She threw the jumpsuit into the water after recovering her Mockingjay pin from it.

Katniss then made her way over to Finnick, who appeared to have lost consciousness. She slowly started to roll his body closer to the water. She had to try to save him. As soon as he made contact with the water, he shouted in pain.

"Make it stop. Please make it stop." he cried.

"It will go away in a few minutes." Katniss said gently. She started to push him further into the water when he grabbed her arm.

"No." he pleaded.

"You have to trust me." she told him. Gale appeared next to her and suggested they inch him into the water, starting with his legs. Slowly, they moved him further into the water. When Finnick was mostly submerged, Gale walked out of the water to watch for any signs of other tributes. Katniss could hear Finnick groan loudly each time the water hit him. She wondered if she had been this loud when she was cleansing herself. When she failed to convince him to submerge his head under the water, she knew she had no choice but to force him. She dunked his head and held it there for 10 seconds. He came up choking on the water.

"What did you do that for?" he asked, his voice still hoarse.

"You'll thank me later." she said. She then used a knife to start cutting away his damaged jumpsuit.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you started ripping my clothes off." he said with a smirk. She shot him a dirty look, letting him know she didn't appreciate the comment. "I was just kidding, Katniss. Gosh."

"This is hardly the time or place for making jokes." she said.

"You don't have to be so serious all the time."

"Of course I do. Look where we are."

"We might as well enjoy ourselves while we can." he said. Katniss jumped when she heard the sound of the cannon fire twice. Finnick stopped making wisecracks. Katniss dragged Finnick back to shore where Gale was waiting for them.

"What do we do now?" Katniss asked.

"Try to get some sleep while we can." Finnick said. No one objected to his suggestion. They went to the outskirts of the jungle, where they could be concealed. Gale volunteered to stay up and keep watch. Katniss laid near him and closed her eyes, hoping that there wouldn't be any more commotions before daylight.

* * *

By the time Katniss woke up, Finnick had taken over for Gale and he was sleeping beside her. In the light, she could see the scabs that covered his body. She then examined her own skin and found them there too. The heat made her scabs start to itch. She knew she shouldn't do this, that infection could follow but she needed relief. It didn't really matter. It looked like she had already itched at the scabs in her sleep. She then walked to the water and submerged herself. Maybe it would help disinfect her wounds. When she returned, she saw Finnick rubbing his back against the tree.

"How do we make the itching stop?" Finnick asked her.

"Some medicine would help with that." she said. She then shouted, "Did you hear that Haymitch? Can we get a little help here?" A minute later, a parachute drifted toward them. Katniss quickly retrieved it and opened it. Inside was a foul smelling ointment. Katniss quickly squeezed some onto her fingers and rubbed it into her skin.

"Ah, much better." she said with relief. She extended the ointment towards Finnick but he just stood there. "Come on, take it."

"I think I'm good." he said as he continued to scratch his skin. She knew the smell was off-putting but it was better than the discomfort of itching skin.

"You better put this on. You would want your skin to scar." she said playing to his vanity. He immediately grabbed the tube. She snickered.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"I knew that would work…the thought of you being less attractive."

"I'm sorry if I have a certain standard to upkeep." he said.

"What's the matter…afraid that no one would like you if you weren't beautiful?" she asked. He shot her a look. "You know what, I think that might actually do you some good." she said as she took the tube from him.

"Hey, give that back!" he said as he started to chase her around the beach. Katniss skipped along waving the ointment, singing:

"_Girls, beware of Finnick Odair_

_Whose handsome looks cannot compare_

_With sea green eyes and with bronze hair_

_Do not touch or even stare_

_Or else you'll fall into despair_"

She eventually lost her footing from laughing so hard and tumbled to the sand.

"What on Earth was that?" he asked sitting next to her.

"What was what?" she asked him.

"That song you sang." he said, clearly annoyed.

"Oh you like that? Girls like to jump rope to that one on the playground back in District 12."

"There is a jump rope song about me?"

"Yes, we have them for all the Victors." she said.

"And how long did it take you to come up with that one?" he asked her.

"I didn't. It's been around for as long as I can remember." she said.

"Why would they fall into despair?" he asked with curiosity.

"Oh come on, you know why." she teased.

"Obviously, I don't."

"I don't think it's any secret how you operate. You sleep with one girl and then move onto the next." she said. She could see the hurt in his eyes before he grabbed the ointment from her and walked towards Gale. She didn't mean to hurt his feelings. He had to have known that was what people thought.

"I'm sorry Finnick but that's what everyone says." she said following him.

"So just because people say it, then it must be true." he said.

"No." she said quietly.

"Well then maybe you should think before you speak." he said as he sat down and rubbed some more ointment on him.

"You should hear the one about Haymitch…it's even worse." she said, trying to cheer him up. She could tell by his sullen expression that it didn't work. She opted to sit next to Gale, who was still asleep, after she got the vibe that Finnick wanted some space. She didn't think one stupid song could do that much damage. If she had, she never would have sang it.

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**Sorry to end this chapter on a down note, but it's The Hunger Games...not exactly the happiest place in the world. Also, I know this chapter focused a lot on Finnick and Katniss, but don't worry. They are not going to get together and there will be more Galeniss in the chapters to follow :)**

**Let me know what you thought about Finnick and Katniss, the fog scene, the song, or whatever else you want to comment about. I love getting feedback from you!**


	22. The Alliance

**Thanks for the reviews! Glad you liked the Finnick song. Some of you want to hear the song about Haymitch. I'll see if I can fit that into the story somewhere. I have a feeling you will like this chapter...lots of things happen. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

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Chapter 22

That night in the arena, the weather turned to near winter conditions. Not only had the temperature dropped but the wind had also started to blow. It didn't help that they lost their outer layer of clothing as a result of the fog attack. Katniss would do anything for a sleeping bag at the moment. Even being wrapped up in Gale's arm wasn't enough to keep the cold away.

"Gale I'm freezing."

"Imagine how cold poor Finnick is." he said. She looked over a Finnick who was 7 feet away from them and shivering. "Maybe we should invite him over."

"Absolutely not!" Katniss whispered. She was surprised he even suggested that.

"Come on, Katniss, he'll help keep you warm."

"I don't want him near me."

"It's time you start kicking into survival mode. Put personal feelings aside." he said. Maybe he was right. Still, it was Finnick Odair. Knowing him, he would take it a whole other way. But at least she wouldn't be freezing.

"Fine, but I'm not going to like it." she said.

"Good, otherwise I'd be worried." Gale said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes at Gale, and then turned to Finnick's direction.

"Finnick…Finnick, come here." she whispered into the silence. He slowly turned around and made his way over to her.

"Yeah?" he asked sitting next to her. Katniss didn't know what to say next. How could she say it without him misconstruing the situation?

"Come lay down next to me." she said quietly.

"You sure you're husband won't mind?" he asked.

"He's the one who suggested it."

"He's sleeping, Katniss." he said, obviously not believing her. She looked back and Gale and saw that he was pretending to sleep.

"Do you want to freeze or not?" she huffed. He didn't say anything in response. He laid down next to her, but kept his distance. "You can get closer."

He scooted closer until their bodies were touching. She couldn't get over how awkward this was. She was sure the Capitolites were probably loving it, though. They were probably thinking that something would happen between her and Finnick. It would certainly add drama to the Games.

"Keep your hands to yourself." she warned him before closing her eyes.

* * *

Katniss woke up to the loud chimes that reverberated through the arena. Lightning struck down again, hitting the tree in the far distance. She found herself sandwiched between Gale and Finnick, who were both fast asleep. She looked at Finnick and wondered about what he had told her earlier, that everything about him is a lie. What was he hiding from the world, and why? Why would he want Panem to perceive him as the conceited flirt that he was? Her thoughts were interrupted as he muttered something in his sleep. It was so soft that she would have missed it if his face weren't a mere 3 inches from hers. 'Annie' is what he said. This confused Katniss. She pondered about who Annie could possibly be. He had never shown any sort of romantic attachment to any female before. In fact, she had been sure he prided himself on being the biggest playboy in Panem. She eventually forced the thoughts out of her mind, so she could get some rest for the busy day that was to follow.

When Katniss woke up, the sun was just starting to peek above the horizon. She was shocked to see that at some point during the night, she had wrapped her arm around Finnick. She slowly started to draw back her arm when she felt him place his hand over hers, as it rested on his side. He then pressed his forehead against hers and a warm grin appeared on his face, as his eyes remained closed.

"Finnick, wake up." she said softly. She knew he must have not been completely awake…maybe he was even dreaming still. As soon as her voice registered with him, his mouth turned downward before opening his eyes.

"Katniss I'm sorry." he said increasing the distance between them. "I didn't realize where I was."

"It's ok." she said showing some sympathy. Whoever he thought she was must be special to him.

"I'm going to go wash up." he said to escape the awkward moment. Katniss turned around, facing Gale.

"Gale, time to get up." she said, stroking his ointment-covered face.

"I'm not ready." he said pulling her closer.

"It's almost the afternoon." she told him.

"Can't we just stay like this for a little longer?" he asked before started kissing her neck. She felt his lips quickly part her neck before he made a disgusted sound. It must have been the ointment.

"Come on, let's get washed up." she said as she helped him stand. They ran into the water, kicking and splashing as they laughed. They kept going until they caught up with Finnick. He had already scrubbed the ointment off his skin, which had already healed. You couldn't even tell that anything had happened to him.

"Aww, look you're beautiful again." Katniss teased rubbing his smooth skin.

"Jealous?" he asked.

"No, I'm sure it worked for me too."

"I guess we'll just have to see about that." he said. Gale and Katniss helped to scrub the ointment and scabs off each other, revealing smooth, glowing skin.

"Hmm, I guess it doesn't work as well on girls." Finnick joked. Katniss splashed some water at his face.

"Well I think you look beautiful." Gale said wrapping his arm around her and giving her a quick peck on the lips.

"I think I'll leave the two of you alone." Finnick said before swimming towards the shore.

"Finally! I thought he'd never leave." Gale murmured.

"You were the one who wanted an alliance. If I had it my way, it would be just the two of us." she wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Maybe I should listen to you more often." he said nuzzling his face next to hers. Katniss closed her eyes, taking pleasure in their close proximity. She stroked the hair on the back of his neck as she breathed him in. Even in this foreign environment, he still smelled like the forest where they spent most of their time, reminding her of home. Her lips found his and she slowly drew out the kisses she gave him. Gale let out a low moan as he pressed his body against hers. She felt him take over as he deepened the kisses and eventually felt his tongue brush against hers. She let out a squeal as he picked her up off the ocean floor. He laughed through his kisses at her reaction.

"Why don't we take this back to dry land?" he suggested.

"And what do you plan on doing once we get there?"

"I think you have a pretty good idea." he whispered into her ear. Katniss gazed into his eyes, wishing it truly were just the two of them. No tributes, no audience, no Gamemakers, just them.

"I don't know about that. You might confuse Finnick into thinking he's suppose to join in or something." she gently teased him.

"I'm sure the Capitolites would love that." he snickered. Suddenly, she heard Finnick call their names. They looked to the shore and saw him waving for them to come in. Gale put down Katniss and they walked together to the beach.

"This better be important Finnick." Katniss said.

"It is. Look." he said pointing to the distance. Appearing from the distant shore was three figures approaching them. One of the tributes as propped the other two as the walked closer.

"Who is that?" Katniss asked.

"More allies." Finnick said with a smile.

* * *

(Gale POV)

'_Great_. _More liabilities._' Gale thought. He knew it was mean but he didn't want anyone that would slow them down. After all, he had Katniss to think of. He needed to get her out of the arena alive. As the tribute came closer, he could see it was Johanna Mason helping Wiress and Beetee, tributes from District 3.

"Special delivery." Johanna said as she let them fall in front of Katniss.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Haymitch said you wanted them…although I'm not sure why." It was true. She had told Haymitch during training that she could see them as allies but Gale was surprised that Haymitch would actually set this up. He watched as Katniss bent down and inspected the pairs' wounds. Gale sat close-by near the edge of the water. He could see Johanna Mason approach him.

"Hmm, maybe this wasn't such a waste after all." she said with a grin. "So what happened to your clothes?" she asked him.

"Poisonous fog destroyed them." he said.

"Thank you Gamemakers." she said with a mischievous smile. Gale decided to ignore that last comment.

"What about you?" he asked, noticing her jumpsuit was also gone.

"Those jumpsuits were horrible…way too constricting. I think this works a lot better." she said. She had on the same clothing that Katniss was wearing; only she knotted her tank top to the side, exposing her stomach. Gale knew what Johanna was doing; that she was blatantly flirting with him. He wasn't sure if she was doing this because she had a genuine interest in him or if it was to rile up Katniss. He looked over in Katniss' direction and could see her shooting daggers as she looked at Johanna. Gale shrugged his shoulder in response. It's not like he could do anything about it. He wasn't doing anything to instigate it. Although it didn't help that he was only wearing a tank top and a pair of boxer-briefs.

"You should have seen us yesterday. Our skin was covered with blisters and scabs. It was pretty gross." he said, thinking it might make her back off.

"Well, it looks good now." she said brushing her fingertips down his arm. Gale looked back over at Katniss who was now helping Beetee with his wounds. Good thing she didn't see that. It would have set her off.

"Aren't you with Finnick?" he asked her. The two of them seemed close.

"Ew no, he's just a friend. Why do you ask? Are you interested?" she asked slyly.

"No, I'm married."

"I wouldn't tell. It could be our little secret." she whispered. Gale rolled his eyes as he stood up and went over to Katniss. He couldn't take any more of Johanna at the moment.

"How can I help?" he asked her.

"Well you could start by drowning Johanna Mason in the ocean." she said. Gale laughed at her suggestion.

"She really bothers you that much."

"Of course she does, Gale. First the elevator, and now this. She won't stop throwing herself at you."

"It doesn't matter though. You know I'd never do anything with her."

"That still doesn't make me feel better."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to tell her to stop." Katniss said.

"Ok, I'll tell her later." he said kissing her. "Why don't we get away from them for a little while…finish what we started earlier."

"I'd like that." she said taking his hand. They grabbed their weapons and told the other they were going hunting. Luckily, no one volunteered to go with them. Katniss and Gale made their way into the jungle and stopped once they knew the others couldn't see them. After dropping his weapon, Gale pinned Katniss against a large tree, kissing her hungrily. Even though it had only been two days, he had felt his longing for her grow to an all time high. He needed to have her. As his mouth moved down her neck, he could hear her breaths accelerate. He pressed body even closer to her eliciting a high-pitched moan from her. He loved that he could make her feel this way. He moved his hands to her hips slid his thumbs between the fabric of her shorts and her skin. He slowly slid them downward until he heard the fire of the cannon. Twice. It caused both of them to jump. They both stared at each other in concern. Gale wasn't sure if he should even continue. He couldn't help himself though. He didn't know how many private moments they had left. He placed soft, gentle kisses against her lips before they were interrupted.

"Ah, good, you're ok." Finnick said, a little out of breath from running uphill.

"Of course we are." Katniss said.

"The two cannons…we thought they were for you." The three of them stood there for a few seconds. "Come on, you two, it's not safe in here."

Gale guessed it was the end of it. He peeled himself off of Katniss before they made their way down the hill. He was annoyed that Finnick had interrupted them for the second time that day. If it happened one more time, he was going to start to think that it was intentional. When they reached the beach, he saw Johanna run to them.

"Thank God you are ok!" she said as she hugged Katniss. Gale was sure she was hugging her just so she could hug him as well. Shortly after, he found Johanna embracing him tightly as she slightly thrust her pelvis against him. He would definitely be talking to her about that tonight.

* * *

(Katniss POV)

The group reconvened on the beach, discussing their next move. All of them agreed the beach might not be the best place for them. They were too exposed. The jungle wasn't their best option, but at least there were some hiding places in case they encountered other tributes. Finnick and Gale helped Beetee and Wiress navigate through the jungle. They were doing a little better than they were a few hours ago, but they still needed help. After an hour, the group decided to take a rest.

"Katniss, you still have that spile, right?" Finnick asked.

"Yes right here." she said, removing it from her sheath of arrows.

"I'll go find us some water." he said. She watched him walk 30 yards away to a large tree as he went to work. As soon as he drove the spile into the tree, she saw him collapse to the ground and cover his ears. Something had to be wrong. She walked quickly towards him. Suddenly, she felt herself falling back to the ground. There must have been a force field of some sort. At least this one only prevented you from advancing. She put her hand up to it. It felt almost like glass except for the fact that she could feel the vibrations being sent through it. Gale and Johanna joined her to see what was going on.

"It's a force field. We have to break through it." she told them. Each one of them grabbed a weapon and pounded against the invisible wall, trying to break it.

"It's impossible to break it." Beetee told them.

"What are we suppose to do, sit back and watch him suffer?" Johanna shouted.

"You have to look for the chink in the armor." he told her.

"Now you're just talking nonsense." Johanna said, ignoring him. She raised her ax once again drove it against the force field. Nothing happened. Katniss wondered how long this force field would last. Maybe it would never break and he'd be trapped there. As horrible as it was to think it, she was glad it was Finnick and not Gale. That would really be unbearable. Not that it was easy to watch Finnick scream in agony as whatever it was pierced his ears. She wondered what could possibly be going on in there. All that she could do was sit and wait.

As soon as the force field broke, they rushed to where Finnick was. He sat with his legs stretched in front of him in a catatonic state. They called out his name but he wouldn't respond. This must have frustrated Johanna because she walked closer to him and started shouting.

"Finnick, stop it! Snap out of it right now!" she shouted. Katniss guessed she could talk to him this way because they knew each other so well. It still didn't seem like a good approach. Johanna then began shaking his shoulders. "What did they do to you? Finnick, speak to me!" Katniss watched as Gale approached Johanna. He lifted her and carried her away from Finnick. She struggled to get away but Gale had too strong of a hold on her. He dropped her by Beetee and Wiress, said a few words, and then returned to Katniss' side.

"Maybe you should talk to him. He seems to like you." Gale said. It was worth a shot. Katniss knelt beside him.

"Finnick, what happened?" she asked softly. He was still unresponsive. "Can you tell me what you saw?"

"Jabberjays." was all he said.

"What did you hear?" she asked them. Again, he just stared off into the distance. Upon closer inspection, she could see his lower lip start to tremble. A minute later, tears dripped from his eyes.

"I could hear her screams, like they were torturing her." he said in despair.

"Who Finnick?" she asked. He shook his head, unwilling to reveal her name. She thought about who it could be. Maybe it could have been a family member. It seemed like something the Capitol would do. If it had been her stuck in there, they would have used Prim. Suddenly, a thought crossed Katniss' mind.

"Finnick, she's ok. They couldn't hurt her, not before the family interviews." she told him, hoping that would provide him with some sort of solace.

"That's the problem, Katniss! She's not part of my family." he shouted as he clutched her shoulders. "Don't you understand? They've taken her away to torture her and it's all my fault."

"Who is she?"

"I can't tell you that." he said quietly. Whoever it was, he must have not wanted all of Panem to know about her.

"Whisper it, then." she said. He shook his head. "You don't trust me?"

"I can't trust anyone…not with this." he told her. Even Finnick had secrets, she guessed. That surprised her. She always thought he was an open book, with nothing to hide. She knew she should respect his privacy but she had to know. She leaned closer to him and lowered her voice.

"Hey Finnick, I'll tell you one of my secrets if you tell me yours." she said playfully. She hoped he wouldn't be offended. She saw a weak smile peek through his pained expression.

"Only if you go first." he said. She hoped this wouldn't come back to hurt her in the end. She cupped her hand over his ear as she began to whisper her secret.

"I'm not really pregnant." she told him. She moved away from him to gauge his reaction. She watched his mouth twist into a mischievous grin.

"Hmm, that's a good one." he said with satisfaction. She watched the sorrow return to his face when she asked for his. "The voice they used belongs to Annie Crestia." he whispered in her ear. She gave him a confused look. Why would they use one of his former tributes against him? It made no sense. Something else did make sense, given this new information. She assumed her previous position to whisper something else.

"They could have used sound clips from her Games. It would have saved them a lot of trouble." She saw him breath a sigh of relief. "Why her, though?"

"Because I love her." he said. "Don't tell anyone."

"I won't." she promised. Even if she did, she would doubt anyone would believe her. Finnick Odair and mad Annie Crestia? He could have any girl he wanted. Why would he choose her?

Katniss helped Finnick off the ground and led him back to the others who were now looking strangely at them. Gale took Katniss' hand as they started to walk. He stopped her for a few seconds so that they trailed slightly behind the others.

"What was that about?" he asked with uncertainty.

"I'm not following." she said. To be honest, she didn't know what Gale could be referring to.

"The two of you…" he said followed by a sigh.

"Wait, Finnick and me?" she questioned him.

"Yes, Katniss, who else would I be referring to." Is that why they got those looks from everyone else in the group…because they thought something was going on between them?

"Oh my gosh, Gale, you can't be serious." she scoffed. She could tell by his expression that he was. "Why would I ever want to be with him?"

"Why wouldn't you? He's perfect. Everyone thinks so."

"You can't honestly think I would chose him over you, do you?" she asked. He shrugged his shoulders. Katniss stopped walking and pulled him back towards her. "The day you came back into my life was the day I knew I never wanted to be without you again. Do you really think I would have married you if I didn't believe that?" she asked. She watched as a smile spread across his face. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

"I don't want you to ever be jealous of him, ok?"

"Ok." he murmured.

"Hey, lovebirds, you coming or not?" Johanna said, interrupting their moment.

"Yes, we're coming." Katniss said taking Gale's hand. They quickened their pace to catch up with the other tributes. They walked back to the beach where they started in the morning because at least they knew what was there. Finnick took a basket he had woven to the water and collected an array of shellfish for them to eat. Katniss had just managed to open an oyster shell. As she raised it to her mouth, Finnick swiped it out her hand.

"Hey that's mine!"

"You can't eat it. It's bad for the baby." he said. The way he said it, you would have though it was his kid. Why did he even care now that he knew the truth?

"But I'm hungry."

"We'll just have to find something else for you. Come on." he said.

"I have to come with you?"

"You really think I'm going back in there by myself after what happened today?"

"Why do I have to come with you? Take Gale." she said.

"Katniss, I'm eating." Gale said as he slurped another oyster out of its shell.

"Fine!" Katniss said trudging into the jungle. "Can't believe they're making a pregnant woman search for her own food." she muttered.

"I should make you angry more often."

"Really, Finnick and why is that?"

"You're cute when you're angry." he said with a smile.

"What is your deal Finnick? Are you always like this?" she said, still fuming.

"Always like what?"

"Always flirting with anyone that's around you. Not everyone likes it."

"Yes they do." he said.

"Well I don't."

"I can't help it. It just who I am." he said shrugging his shoulders.

"Well Gale doesn't like it either."

"Oh, is he jealous?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure why. He's twice the man you'll ever be."

"Is that suppose to hurt my feelings?" he asked while pretending to frown.

"No, it's just me stating the truth."

"I think it's a little early for you to be making those kind of presumptions. After all, we've only known each other for a week."

"I've had enough of you to last a lifetime." she said bitterly.

"Wow, those pregnancy hormones are really starting to kick in."

"For the last time, I am not—" she said before she felt Finnick's lips pressed firmly against hers. She knew what he was doing. He was preventing her from revealing her secret to all of Panem. She wished she could have thanked him but she knew she had to play along.

"Is that why you dragged me all the way out here?"

"Maybe." he admitted playfully.

"You know I wouldn't be surprised if you and Johanna had a bet to see which one of you could seduce us first." she said walking back to the beach. She slumped down next to Gale.

"What wrong?" he asked.

"Finnick Odair kissed me."

"He did what?" Gale said in disbelief.

"You heard me." she said. A few minutes later Finnick reappeared from the jungle carrying a bowl in his hands.

"Here I found these for you." he said giving the bowl to Katniss. Inside were a bunch of small red berries. "They're alright to eat. I've already tried some."

Katniss thought about throwing them into the sand, to spite him, but she was too hungry. She didn't bother to thank him. She was still mad at him. He didn't have to kiss her to stop her from telling her secret. He could have just covered her mouth with his hand or something. She saw Gale stand up.

"Hey Odair, come back here." he said as he walked towards Finnick.

"Yeah?" he said as he walked back towards the group.

"Did you kiss her?" Gale asked. Katniss felt her muscles tense up as she waited for Finnick's reponse.

"Yeah, you jealous?"

"No, I just don't think it's right for a guy to kiss another guy's girl." he said.

"If you should be talking to anyone, you should talk to that wife of yours. She was begging for it." he said with a smirk. Gale advanced towards Finnick and punched him right in the face. She then watched as Finnick wrestled him to the ground. Katniss started to stand to go break up the fight but Johanna pulled her back down.

"No, sit." she said. "This is so hot."

"What two guys hurting each other?"

"Two guys fighting over you." Johanna corrected her. "Please don't tell me this is wasted on you."

"They are acting stupid."

"Gale is defending your honor. I'd let him defend my honor any day." she said with lust in her eyes. Katniss rolled her eyes.

"The pair of you are too much. You belong together, you know?"

"Ha! Me and Finnick? That would get old really fast."

"Well could you stop going after my husband. It's getting really annoying."

"Oh, looks like the Girl on Fire is finally growing a backbone." Katniss glared at her. If she weren't "pregnant", she would totally fight her. That would make for even more interesting television for the Games. Instead, she stood up and walked over to the boys, who were still wresting and punching each other.

"Get up, both of you." she said sternly. They did as she said. It looked like Finnick got the worst of it. He had a black eye to prove it. "Look at the two of you. You're supposed to be allies."

"But he kissed you." Gale said.

"I know but that doesn't mean you have to give poor Finnick a shiner for it." she said. She saw Finnick crack a smile.

"And you, kissing a married man's wife. You should be ashamed of yourself. Don't you have any respect?"

"I'm sorry." he apologized.

"It's time for you to start acting like men." she said. They both nodded their heads. Katniss walked away from them and joined the others who talking about building a fire. The temperature had already started to drop as the sun sank below the horizon. Gale and Finnick seemed to think it was fine since there were so many of them. They could easily fight off any tributes that might attack. The two of them collected some fallen tree limbs from the jungle and arranged them before lighting them. They all sat around the fire casually talking to one another. Katniss remembered something Beetee said earlier that she had been wondering about.

"Beetee, what did you mean when you were talking about a chink in the armor?" she asked him.

"It's just nonsense." Joanna said.

"I wasn't asking you." Katniss spit back.

"It's the force field. In each one there is always a small area that is a give away, but you have to search closely for it. It kind of wavers like on the air on a hot summer day. It shifts around. If you can break through that part, you can destroy the whole force field."

"And how do you know this?"

"I've been studying it for years now. Trying to help fix the flaw."

"So no one can make a perfect force field?" Katniss asked. She found this hard to believe considering all the technology the Capitol had available to them.

"No, not yet. Every force field had a flaw if you look carefully enough. It might be small, but it is there."

"And how would you break through it?" Gale asked, joining in on the conversation.

"Anything that could pierce it would work. A knife, an axe, even one of your arrows." Beetee said motioning towards Katniss. Their conversation was interrupted by Wiress who shouted "Tick, tock" in a worried voice. Katniss had heard her mumbling that phrase over and over for the past hour. She wondered what it meant. She went over and asked her but all Wiress did was repeat the phrase over and over. Katniss sat beside Gale and gave him a quizzical look.

"I don't know what it means." he said.

"It means she's nuts. That's what it means." Johanna said.

"It has to mean something or else she wouldn't be saying it." Katniss said.

"It's the sound a clock makes if that's any help." Finnick said.

"I know what sound a clock makes." Katniss said. "Wait, that's it." The three of them looked at her, waiting for her to explain.

"The arena, it's a clock. Think about it, every night around midnight, those gongs sound 12 times, and the light strikes every time around midnight and noon. That's it."

"That impressive." Johanna said commending her.

"The arena's round this year. Do you think each section does a different thing?" Finnick asked.

"It has to and we already know what a couple of the section do. Lightning storms, rain, then poisonous fog." Katniss said.

"And the jabberjays." Finnick added with discomfort. "What about you Johanna. What did you see?"

"On the other side of the arena, there are tidal waves. They almost took us out earlier today."

"So that 5 sections. I wonder what the others do." Gale said.

"Let's hope we never have to find out." Johanna said. Katniss was happy that they all seemed to get along. Maybe it was good they got all the fighting out of their system. They all seemed a lot less stressed and could actually talk to one another in a normal tone. This was how allies were supposed to behave.

"Well as much as I'd like to stay up and talk about this, I need to get some rest." Katniss said.

"I'll come with you." Gale said. They laid down on the other side of the circle and cuddled close to one another. Katniss could sense someone hovering over them 15 minutes later but she kept her eyes closed.

"Good, they're asleep." Johanna said as she walked back to the group. Katniss wondered what that meant. Were they going to do something to them? She listened to their conversation that was occurring behind her.

"I thought they were going to leave after I kissed her." Finnick said.

"You're lucky they didn't. It would have ruined everything." Johanna said.

"Calm down Johanna." Beetee said calmly. "But she is right. You need to exercise more caution. We need them to stay here and not figure out what we intend to do with them."

Katniss felt her heart start to race. What exactly did they intend to do to them? Kill them? Use them as bait? She wished Gale was awake to hear all this but she could tell he was asleep. She would just have to wait until tomorrow to tell him. In the meantime, she knew she had to calm herself enough to sleep. She would need her rest for tomorrow, to face whatever was in store for them.

* * *

**Looks like the alliance is in trouble. What do you think will happen? Do you think Katniss and Gale will get away? **

**Also, let me know what you thought about this chapter (parts you liked, parts you didn't like, etc). **

**I must say that I really like writing Finnick and Johanna's parts in this story. They definitely make it interesting. :)**


	23. The Break

**This chapter is pretty dark. Just thought I'd warn you.**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 23

Katniss was surprised when she woke up the sun in the sky. She expected to be given a shift to watch their camp. This made her even more suspicious of the others. Why were they being so nice? She sat up and saw Finnick and Gale diving through the large waves that were rolling towards the shore. Katniss walked to where the water reached her knees and waved them in. They both swam towards shore, racing each other. Finnick won. They both laughed as they walked towards her. She didn't like how chummy they were.

"Ready, go!" Finnick said as they ran towards her. She felt Gale take her wrist as Finnick grabbed hold of her ankles.

"Put me down!" she screamed. They laughed in response. Then, they swung her back and forth before releasing her in the water. She knew she should be mad at them, but it actually was kind of fun. Still, she wouldn't give them the pleasure of knowing she enjoyed it.

"Gale Hawthorne, how dare you do that to the mother of your unborn child." she said guilt tripping him.

"Are you ok?" he asked with concern as placed her hand over her stomach.

"Yes, I'm fine. And you Mr. Odair. You'll make sure I don't dare eat one piece of shellfish, but you will throw me into the ocean?" she said raising her eyebrows as she crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Hawthorne." he said bowing slightly. She wasn't sure why he was calling her that, even though she was "married" to Gale. It didn't sound right to her. Mrs. Hawthorne was Gale's mother's name. Not hers.

"Mrs. Hawthorne, I like the way that sounds." Gale said kissing her cheek as he wrapped his arm around her.

"I'm too young to be a Mrs." she said.

"Then what can I call you?"

"You can call me what you always call me."

"I think you're a little old for nicknames." he said.

"You're never too old for nicknames." she disagreed. She wished she was alone with Gale. She just remembered about the conversation the other tributes had without them. Then, an idea popped into her head.

"Finnick, will you go get me some more of those berries you found yesterday? Since you threw me into the ocean?"

"Yeah, fine." he said with a sigh. Good, her plan was working. Once Finnick was on the shore, she started talking.

"We're breaking the alliance today." she whispered.

"What? Why?" he asked confused.

"I heard them talking after they thought we were asleep. They were talking about us."

"Listen Katniss, I know you don't like any of them too much but it's safer if we stay with a group. Finnick and Johanna are strong. They can help us last longer."

"Gale, they intending to do something to us."

"What?" he asked.

"I don't know. They didn't say but they mentioned how important it is that we don't wander off."

"You're being paranoid, Katniss."

"I'm leaving today, with or without you." she said bluntly.

"You'd leave without me?" he said hurt.

"I'm not sticking around to see what they have in store for us."

"Ok, fine we'll leave today." he said as he exhaled. "But how do you expect us to get away? I'm sure they'll be keeping a close eye on us."

"We'll tell them we're going hunting. Then we'll make our escape."

"When will that be?"

"When lightning strikes, you'll bring it up." she told him.

"Ok." he said. They walked back to the shore. Finnick was emerging from the jungle with a bowl of berries. This time she thanked him. He then went to the water with a basket to collect breakfast for everyone else. Katniss fed Gale a few berries as he waited for his breakfast. He kissed her lips.

"I love you." he said. "Just in case you forgot."

"I know." she said with a smile. "And I love you."

"And I love you too, little one." he said as he rubbed her stomach. Hearing him say that broke her heart a little. A part of her wished it were true. That she was pregnant with his child. She knew he would make an excellent father. She'd seen the way he was with his siblings. He loved them so much. She looked down at her berries and remained silent.

"It will be ok, Katniss." he muttered.

"No it won't." she said.

"You will do fine without me." he said. That's not what she was worried about. She knew she wasn't getting out of there alive. Haymitch promised to save him. What she was really thinking about was his future. He'd find someone else, marry her, and have children of his own. A part of her didn't want this for him. She didn't want him to love anyone else but her. She knew it was selfish of her to think it but she couldn't help how she felt. Tears escaped her and she concealed her eyes with her hand.

"Don't cry, Catnip." he whispered gently as he brought her hand down from her face. He wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"I don't want to lose you." she said.

"You won't. You'll always have me, right in here." he said putting his hand over her heart.

"That's not good enough."

"It will have to do." he said. "We'll talk about this later." She nodded her head. She didn't want anyone listening in on their conversation, although she didn't know what he could possibly say to her. She would find out later on.

The morning wore on, and Katniss nervously waited for the lightning to strike. She didn't want to be around her so-called allies any longer. They were being way too nice now, probably to make sure they stayed in the alliance. If only they knew what would happen within a few minutes. When the lightning struck the tree, Gale picked up his spear.

"I can't sit still anymore. Come on, Katniss, let's hunt." he said standing up. Katniss stood, grabbing her bow and quiver.

"I'll come with you. Maybe you could show me a thing or two." Finnick said joining them. Gale and Katniss looked at each other. They knew what he was up to. He must not have trusted them enough to leave them out of his sight.

"Ok, sounds good." Katniss said feigning a smile. The three of them journeyed into the jungle, Katniss and Gale walking in front of Finnick. Katniss knew she had to think of something to get away from Finnick. She pretended to double over in pain, clutching her stomach. Then she remembered that Finnick knew she wasn't pregnant. Still, Gale was quick to rush to her side.

"Get him." she muttered, quickly handing him a large rock. Gale took it and charged at Finnick with the rock. Luckily, Finnick was unarmed. He took the jagged stone and hit the side of his head. It wasn't enough to make him unconscious.

"Gale, stop it!" Finnick shouted, trying to cover his head. Gale hit him with the rock a few more times.

"You follow us and I swear, I will kill you." Gale threatened as he stood up, dropping the stone.

"No, wait, you can't go." Finnick said clutching his head as he struggled to stand. Katniss and Gale ran off at full speed without looking back. They didn't stop until they were on the other side of the Arena.

"Shit!" Gale said as his paced around with his hands over his head. Katniss knew he was upset.

"Gale, you had to do it. He would have come after us." she said.

"But did we have to do it like that? We didn't exactly play fair. He wasn't even armed."

"It's The Hunger Games. There aren't any rules. It's like Finnick said. Kill or be killed."

"What we did though, it still feels dirty."

"I never thought that you would be the one that would get attached to people in here." Katniss said.

"He's a decent guy, Katniss."

"It was all an act to get us to trust him."

"I'm not so sure. And I'm also not sure about us breaking the alliance either."

"Well we can't go back now." she said before exhaling. Katniss sat on a log and Gale joined her. Maybe Gale was right about Finnick. Maybe he was on their side. Still, the way they talked last night, it seemed too suspicious to stay.

"You must hate me right now." she said quietly. She watched as Gale sat in silence. "Gale, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have given you that rock. I just didn't know what to do."

"I could have killed him Katniss."

"But you didn't."

"Why did we even have to leave in the first place? What did they specifically say about us last night?" he asked.

"They were talking about how they were afraid we were going to run away and how that would have ruined everything. Then Beetee mentioned that we couldn't find out what they intended to do with us."

"But they never mentioned harming us?" Gale asked.

"No." Katniss said quietly.

"Dammit, Katniss." he said as he stood up and kicked the log. "For all we know, they could have been trying to keep you safe."

"How do you know that?" she asked defensively.

"You're pregnant Katniss!" he shouted. "Do any of those people seem like the type of person that would murder a pregnant woman?"

"No." she said. She hadn't thought about that. Mainly because she kept on forgetting she was suppose to be pregnant.

"Haymitch probably set this up. We've ruined everything."

"We can still do it. Try to be the last ones."

"We are the enemy now after what happened to Finnick. They'll come after us. Now we have them and the Careers to worry about." he said before exhaling loudly.

Katniss could tell he didn't feel like talking anymore. Instead they sat in silence, thinking about their next move. Katniss knew that Johanna would want revenge for what they did to Finnick. She knew how much Johanna cared for him. He was like family to her. In fact, they all probably were. They saw each other every year when they mentored tributes for the Games.

Katniss' concentration was broken when she heard a parachute hit the ground. She ran over to retrieve it, wondering what Haymitch could have possibly sent them. Inside she found bread and a small container of butter. She examined the top of the loaf and immediately recognized the markings. It was from the Mellark bakery. She smiled as she traced the markings with her index finger.

"What's that?" Gale asked as he joined her.

"Bread from District 12." she said with a wide smile.

"I wonder why Haymitch sent us that." he said.

"To remind of us home, I guess. Want some?"

"No I'm good." he said. She couldn't help but notice his jealous tone. She decided to let it go. She wasn't about to have a fight about Peeta with him in front of all of Panem. Instead, they discussed their plan for the remainder of the day and then waited for nightfall. Once the sun had set, they moved over to the 3 o'clock section and waited for the lightning to strike. They sat with their backs against the tree, staring into the distance.

"Katniss, I don't think it's any secret what each of us is trying to do." Gale said in a low voice. How did he find out that she was trying to save him? He must have known that she wouldn't let go of him that easily, just like in the last Games. "I just want to let you know that Haymitch made promises to me about getting you out of here."

"When?" she asked.

"The day of the Interviews." he said. Katniss felt betrayed. She had consulted with Haymitch way before that.

"You're not the only one he made promises to." she said with sigh. "I told him the real plan after the first day of training. He promised me he would help to save you."

"I wonder who he was lying to." he said.

"It doesn't matter. It's your turn to make it out of here."

"My turn?" he asked angrily. Maybe it wasn't the best way to put it but it's what she wanted.

"I got out last time. This time, I want it to be you."

"Katniss, listen to me. This is important. You can still have a life if you make it out of here. Me…well I don't think winning this thing will grant me my freedom. I'd be shipped back to that cell that is waiting for me in the Capitol. Would you really want that for me?"

"You'd be a Victor. They'd have to let you go."

"Either way it's not what I want. Think about your family."

"And what about yours? They need you Gale." He shook his head.

"Prim needs her big sister. You know how much you mean to her. And your mother, I don't even want to think of the condition she would be in if you didn't return."

"Gale, nothing you say is going to convince me." she said.

"Maybe this will." he said reaching under his tank top to reveal a gold necklace. He opened the latch and handed it to her. It was a locket. On one side was a small photo of Prim and her mother, smiling warmly. She was not prepared for the photo on the other side. It was Peeta Mellark, wearing a charming smile.

"You knew this was in here the whole time?" she said pointing to his picture.

"Yes."

"Whose idea was it to put it in here?"

"I think you know Katniss."

"But why would he put him in this locket?"

"Katniss, he told me everything." Gale whispered quietly to her. She felt her heart start to ache. How could Haymitch betray her like that? Sure she had developed feelings for Peeta once Gale was gone, but how could Haymitch think that she'd ever want to be with Peeta Mellark ever again? "Katniss, I'm not mad. You did exactly what I told you to. I knew it would happen. He could give you a good life…with a happy future."

"What makes you think I would want that with him?"

"Because he's just what you need."

"You're what I need."

"Well I'm not going to be around much longer. If he could help you once, he can help you again." Katniss remained silent. She didn't want to talk about this anymore. Gale scooted closer and put his arm around her. "You, know, you're not the only one I'm trying to get out of here." he said placing his hand against her stomach. She hated that he was using the fake pregnancy to sell his argument. To those watching, of course, it made more sense to get her out. She was carrying his child. But it was a lie. She looked down, knowing this was an argument she couldn't win.

Once the lightning struck, they moved to the 10 o'clock section so they could sleep through the night without any threats from the Gamemakers. Katniss knew that one of them should take watch, but she wanted to keep Gale close. They laid down next to each other and closed their eyes.

* * *

(Gale POV)

Gale laid back, looking up at the sky thinking about everything that happened that day. That morning, he had actually been happy. Everything had been going so well. Katniss was safe, they had a strong group of allies, and they didn't experience any horrors from the Gamemakers. The moment he decided to break the alliance was when everything went to hell. He violently hit Finnick, whom he now considered a friend, in the head with a rock not once, but three times. He didn't even now how he even managed to do that. He never considered himself a violent person. Gale wondered about the condition of his friend from District 4. Finnick wasn't dead, but he would have undergone a lot of trauma from the impact of the rock on his temple. Why did Katniss have to hand him that rock in the first place?

Next, he thought about the parachute that arrived with the bread from the District 12. He knew it was from the Mellark bakery. It was the only place to get bread in their district. And the way that Katniss smiled as she examined the bread. That hurt too. He knew she was thinking of him. Even in the Arena, he couldn't get her away from Peeta Mellark. He knew it was his own fault. She wanted nothing to do with him before the end of the last Games. He was the one that brought them together. He knew that Peeta liked Katniss.

He then thought about how mortified Katniss had looked when he revealed that Haymitch told him everything about her and Peeta. It's not like he wanted to hear about all the details, but it was the only way Haymitch would consider his plan to save Katniss. Haymitch thought he should know everything that happened, as if saying it would change his mind about wanting Katniss to get out of the Arena. He would never change his plan.

Haymitch wasn't even that drunk when he told him about what went on while he was away, which was even more upsetting. If Haymitch had been drunk, Gale could have at least written it off as drunken ramblings. He knew everything he said was true. He didn't know which piece of information upset him the most. He hated to think of her kissing Peeta. He knew emotions were driven by her kisses. He also didn't like the fact that Haymitch would see Peeta leaving Katniss' house in Victor Village early in the morning. Gale had a feeling that Peeta wasn't sleeping on the couch. He knew how Katniss didn't like to be left alone at night. Ever since the first Reaping, when the nightmares began, she needed someone to lie down next to her.

He also didn't like how Haymitch used air quotes when he told him that Peeta and Katniss had been "training" together everyday from the reading of the card to the Reaping. What the hell was that suppose to mean? It seemed awfully suggestive to him. Maybe that's how she knew how to get his underwear off so easily the night they had sex. Maybe it wasn't the first time. He rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face into his arms. The day's emotions had finally taken its toll as he let the tears escape his eyes. Ever since he figured out that he had feelings for Katniss, he did every thing he could keep other guys away from her. That's why he let those rumor spread about what Katniss and him did in woods. He knew the other guys would not try anything with her. He should have known there would have come a day when he could no longer keep her to himself.

Now he felt even worse about the locket. He wasn't on board anyway with the plan to include Peeta's photo in it. It was the only way Haymitch would agree to save Katniss. What other choice did he have? He had to play along like he actually wanted her to be with Peeta. It couldn't be further from the truth. He didn't want Peeta Mellark anywhere near her. It's not that he didn't approve of Peeta as a person. He knew he was a nice guy. He just didn't want Katniss to be with anyone but him, as selfish as that sounded.

He must have been sobbing pretty loudly because he felt Katniss' hand on him, tracing small circles on his back.

"Gale, what's wrong?" she whispered to him.

"It's nothing. I'm just stressed." he said. It was broadly the truth.

"About what?" she asked him. He didn't really want to explain. He thought the obvious reasons would be enough of an explanation. Maybe he should just ask her.

"If I ask you something, will you tell me the truth?" he asked as he turned to face her. She gave him a bewildered look. He wondered what she was thinking.

"Gale, I would never lie to you. You know that." she said stroking his hair. That was it. He leaned close to her and cupped his hand around her ear.

"Did you ever have sex with him?" he asked in a low whisper.

"No." she said. Gale let out a sigh of relief. It was just what he wanted to hear. "Is that why you were crying?"

"Yes." he admitted.

"You really do have a sensitive side, don't you?" she said with a grin. Of course he did, although he guessed he had hid that from her. For all those years, he put up such a tough exterior so she'd never guess how he truly felt about her. "Let's get some sleep, Gale." she said. It sounded good enough to him. He really didn't feel like talking anyway. He wrapped his arm around her, and pressed his body against hers before closing his eyes. He hoped that tomorrow would be better than today was.

* * *

**The alliance is broken and Finnick is hurt :-o What do you think will happen next? As always reviews are appreciated. Let me know what you thought about this chapter...the longer the review, the better ;)**


	24. The Attack

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 24

When Katniss woke up, she found herself lying on top of Gale. She had no clue as to how she got like this. When they fell asleep last night, they were lying on their sides, entwined with each other. Maybe Gale did this, wanting to feel her close to him. As she shifted her body, she could feel his erection pressing against her. She slowly moved her hips against him in a rhythmic motion. As she planted light kisses on the base of his neck, she heard him let out a soft moan. He then tilted his head towards her.

"This is a nice way to wake up." he muttered before kissing her lips. His kisses were intense and frivolous and as wild as the environment that surrounded them. This only furthered to fuel her desire for him. She slipped her tongue inside his mouth, massaging it against his. Katniss felt his hands travel down her body, his fingertips leaving trails of electric currents running through her skin. When he reached her shorts, she felt his hands bury themselves beneath the layers of fabric, resting on her skin. She let out an initial moan as he gripped her rear and pressed her into him. He did this repeatedly, speeding the pace of her gyrations. She wanted to peel off the layers of clothing separating them so she could experience the ecstasy of having him inside of her once more. Gale must have read her mind because she felt him slowly start to work her shorts and underwear down her hips. Not a second later, they heard the cannon sound twice. They both stopped for a moment and looked at each other.

"Just ignore it." Katniss said as she resumed kissing him. When they felt the wind whip around them and looked up to see the hovercraft above them, they separated from each other.

"We have to move." Gale said. "Whoever killed the two tributes must be close." Katniss pulled up her shorts along with her underwear before gathering her bow, her quiver and the container with the bread. She also tucked a small knife between her shorts and underwear before covering it with her tank top. They made their way through the jungle, unsure of which way they should go. They walked to a small clearing in the jungle and were shocked to see blood splattered on the ground. Gale and Katniss both stood there in shock.

"Come on Katniss, we've got to get out of here." he said, with panic showing in his voice. Not a moment sooner, the Careers from District 1 charged at them from their hiding spot.

"We've been looking for you." Gloss said with an overstated arrogance.

"Congratulations." Gale said with venom in his voice.

"Let's not put this off any further." Cashmere said to his brother. They smiled wickedly at the each other before racing towards their opponents. Katniss was so worried about Gale that she didn't even have time to draw her bow and arrow before Cashmere got to her. She had been thinking about how Gale could protect himself with a knife when Gloss had a sword. The length of the blade was definitely an unfair advantage. Cashmere pushed Katniss to the ground on her stomach before straddling her. She couldn't see what Cashmere was planning to do to her. Her neck couldn't turn that far around.

"What do you plan on doing to me?" Katniss asked.

"You know what I am planning on doing to you." she said.

"I know, but how?"

"Stop asking questions!" Cashmere shouted. Katniss let out a sigh of defeat. There was no way from escaping from her. This was it; her cannon would sound soon. At least Gale might be able to make it out. He might be strong enough to take both of them out. Or maybe he would die too. If that happened, she hoped Finnick would win. He deserved it after what they did to him. Then he could go home to Annie.

"Just get it over with." Katniss said as she closed her eyes. She expected for Cashmere to cut the side of her neck but nothing happened during her minute of waiting.

"Actually, I've changed my mind." Cashmere said as she grabbed Katniss' wrist. Cashmere wrapped her wrist with cording and then bound it to the other wrist, knotting it several times. She was confused as to why she was doing this. She lifted Katniss to her knees and braced her shoulders with her hands. "This is the fun part. Before I kill you, we're going to watch your husband die first."

Katniss felt fear and disgust rush through her. This was the plan for her last year in the arena with Career tributes, before she sacrificed herself and they lit her on fire. She cringed at the thought of the fire, hoping that Cashmere wouldn't try the same thing. She watched as Gale fought Gloss. He was actually doing pretty well considering he only had his knife. Katniss could see his spear lying on the ground 10 feet away from them. Gale must have tried to use it and missed. When she saw Gloss' sword graze Gale's arm, she knew she had to help him. She subtlety tried to remove the cording from her hands. The combination of elastic in the cord and the poor job Cashmere did tying her up made it easy to free herself. She slowly moved her hand to the knife she had hidden on her body. As soon as she pulled it free, she jabbed it backward, hitting Cashmere in the side. She let out a scream as the sharp blade penetrated her skin. Katniss quickly stood up and kicked her to the ground. Within a second, Katniss was on top of her, slitting her throat. The cannon sounded and Katniss ran to pick up her bow and quiver. When she got to it, she looked up in time to see Gloss slash Gale's abdomen with his sword, leaving a deep gash. Gale fell to the ground, letting out painful cries. Katniss quickly loaded her bow and shot Gloss right in the heart, killing him instantly. The cannon shot again. Katniss raced over to Gale who was clutching his stomach and breathing heavily.

"Gale!" she cried as she embraced him.

"Katniss." he murmured gently, brushing her hair with his bloody fingers.

"It's going to be ok. I'm going to fix you." she said.

"It's too late for that."

"No, it's never too late." she retorted. She cut the front on his tank top away from him and used it try to stop the bleeding.

"You're wasting your time, Katniss."

"Shut up, Gale. I'm not letting you die." she told him. In the distance, she heard the hovercraft coming. They usually didn't come until the tributes had cleared out before picking up the dead tributes. She had a feeling this wasn't good. Maybe they would take Gale with them, even if he wasn't dead. He was close to death anyways. "We have to move you." she told him.

"Katniss, I can't even stand."he said helplessly.

"I know." she said before standing up. She took hold of his hands and started dragging him on the jungle floor. With each tug, Gale let out a painful cry. She knew it hurt him but she wouldn't let them Capitol get their hands on him. As she continued to pull him away, she could feel her adrenaline kick in, allowing for her to pull him further each time before stopping. When they were a safe distance away, she flung herself onto him and buried her head into the crook of his neck.

"Katniss, I love you so much."

"Stop it, I know what you're doing. You are saying goodbye." She sat up and inspected his wound. She removed the parachute from the bread container and used it to wipe away the blood. The gash was an inch deep, cutting through his abdomen muscle but not reaching his vital organs. Maybe there was some hope with some medicine. She didn't know how she was going to get the medicine. Haymitch probably didn't even have any more money left to buy it. He never should have sent that bread.

"Catnip, I'm cold." he said as he started to cry. She knew this wasn't good. The blood loss must have been affecting his circulation.

"Haymitch, help us!" Katniss screamed into the air frantically. She didn't care if anyone heard her or how desperate she sounded to those watching. She needed the medicine, right away or he would die. She couldn't bear for that to happen. She rubbed her hands over skin, trying to generate enough heat to warm him up. She heard something clunk behind her and she turned to find a package from Haymitch. She quickly grabbed it and brought it over to Gale. Inside was a heat reflecting blanket and a jar of medicine. It was the same medicine she used on him the year before. She searched for the pain medicine to go with it but it wasn't there. They must not have had enough sponsor money to pay for it. She opened the jar and scooped up the medicine with her fingers. Gale grabbed her wrist.

"Katniss, the pain medicine first." he reminded her. He must have known it was the same stuff.

"Gale there is none." she said with a pained expression. His face scrunched up, knowing the pain that would come with the medicine.

"I'm sorry Gale, I have to." she said apologizing in advanced. She smeared the medicine across his stomach.

"Shit, Katniss, it hurt so much." he said as he covered his eyes with his forearm. She looked down at his stomach and could see his muscles contract as he took deep breaths. She didn't know what she could do for the pain. She knew she couldn't get rid of it but maybe she could take his mind off of it. She removed his arm from his face and swept her lips against his. She continued to kiss him, but he wasn't responding. Instead, she felt his lip quivering against hers and he let out a labored breath. He gently pushed her away.

"Katniss, I can't do this right now. The pain—" he started.

"Don't focus on the pain, focus on me." she told him. She felt his hand reach behind her neck as he drew her mouth to his, kissing her hungrily. All of the emotions seemed to whirl around her, causing her to feel dizzy. She wouldn't stop though, not if it would help him deal with the pain. The ferocity of the early morning kisses returned although she knew she couldn't go any further with him in his current condition. She could feel his moans reverberate through her as he kissed her deeply. She wasn't sure if they were a result of the pain or the pleasure he felt at that moment. After another few minutes, he parted his lips from her and kissed her forehead, letting her know she was finished. He seemed like he was in less pain than before. Katniss wrapped the blanket around him and then leaned against the tree behind them with his head in her lap.

"Get some rest Gale." she said softly as he looked up at her.

"Katniss I'm scared." he admitted.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be ok. I'm right here." she told him as she played with his hair. She told him to close his eyes and then started singing the lullaby her father used to sing to her. His face muscles relax and a slight grin appeared on his face. She should have sung more to him; she knew how much he enjoyed. She repeated the song until she could tell he was asleep. She kept a loaded bow in one hand and she kept watch over him. This time she would make sure no one would get to them.

* * *

Gale slept into the early evening. Based on the lighting they were in section 8, giving them a few more hours before the Gamemakers would activate that section. Katniss retrieved the bread from the container, and fed Gale bite-sized pieces. She was happy he would actually eat it now. She then took the spile and used a nearby tree to get water. She carefully carried the water cupped in her hand for Gale to drink. About half of it drained before she could get to him, which cause her to make multiple trips. When he had had his fill, she stuck her mouth under the spile and guzzled down the water until her thirst was quenched. She removed the spile and returned to Gale, who still looked out of it.

She inspected his wound and found that the gash was only half an inch deep. It seemed as if the medicine worked faster than last year. Maybe the Capitol had found a way to improve it. Gale managed to doze off again. He was probably tired because his body was working hard to repair itself. She let him be for another hour before she woke him up. She knew it was time to them to move to safety.

"Do you think you can walk?" she asked with fear. She hoped he said yes. She really didn't want to find out what happened in that section of the arena.

"I think so—if you help me." he said. She pulled on his arms as she helped him get to standing position. He let out a large gasp, still clearly in pain. She propped him up next to a tree while she collected their things. She then returned to him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, allowing him to lean on him as they walked. He let out controlled breaths as he tried to suppress the pain. He still couldn't take that big of steps, even with her help and it took them nearly the whole hour to walk to edge of the 5 o'clock section. She carefully helped him down into a laying position.

"I need to reapply the medicine." she said quietly.

"No, Katniss, it's fine. It's healing, see?"

"You need to get better faster. Just one more time ok?" she bargained with him. He nodded with a fearful look on his face. She retrieved the medicine and slathered a thick coat of it on his abdomen. She also spread some over the cut on his arm that she failed to notice earlier. She covered his mouth with her hand to stifle his shouts. She started to sing again to calm him down. After a few minutes, he was quiet enough for her to remove her hand. She sat with him in the silence waiting for the time to past so they could return to the 8 o'clock section, hoping that their luck would change.

* * *

(Finnick POV)

Finnick was jolted from his sleep when he felt the wound on the side of his head stinging. He looked up to find Johanna rinsing it with saltwater. He noticed the soft expression on her face as she wiped away the dried blood. It was rare for her to let her guard down like that. She usually had such a tough appearance, not letting anyone know how vulnerable she really was. Maybe it was the fact that he was near death when she found him a day ago.

After Gale had hit him with the rock, he had fallen in and out of consciousness. He barely even remembered her finding him. It was all so hazy. He was lying there when he heard Johanna scream his name as she ran to him. He somehow made it back to the beach where Wiress and Beetee were. He knew he wasn't strong enough to walk and he doubted that she could carry him. He wondered how she did it.

The look of concern was still evident on her face as she repeated his name gently over and over again. He didn't answer. He was still mesmerized by his friend. He also thought the people at home should see this side of her, the true Johanna Mason. Over the years, people had grown to dislike her from her bitter, unfriendly persona. They didn't know the reason behind it. Snow had killed everyone she loved when she failed to comply with the term of her Victor contract. She wouldn't do the appointments. He wished he could have been that strong to stand up to Snow. Although he was sure she didn't really want anyone to die. She probably didn't even actually think Snow would follow through in such a harsh way. That's why she also probably continued to act that way; to make sure that no one would ever desire her again.

"Finnick, answer me." she said with worry.

"Yeah?" he said faintly.

"What did they do to you?" she asked. He still hadn't told her yet. This was the first time he could actually organize his thoughts.

"They were trying to get away from me. Gale…he hit me with a rock." he said. He could see the fury flood her eyes.

"I swear, when we find them. I'm going to…" she couldn't even finish because she was so angry.

"I'm sorry I let them get away."

"Finnick, don't worry about that right now."

"I just don't understand why they would do that. I mean I know they didn't know the whole plan but I would have thought that Haymitch would at least tell them what were trying to get her out of here." Finnick said.

It really did shock him the way Gale and Katniss had turned on him like that. He thought that they were friends. Maybe it was all just an act. Maybe they planned to take him out the whole time. They knew he was competition. He was a Career, after all…that's why Katniss handed Gale the rock, to get rid of him. He didn't want to believe it though. They actually made the arena bearable for him this year, with the joking and laughing.

"Finnick what's wrong?" she asked. His face must have reflected what he was feeling.

"I thought I could trust them." he said.

"Remember what I told you. Trust no one. Well, except for me." she said with a smile.

"You know Johanna, you can't go through life always thinking like that."

"It's worked so far." she said, her tough expression once returning. "No one can hurt you that way."

Their conversation was interrupted by Wiress, who hobbled towards them, repeating the word 'bread' over and over again. Johanna helped guide Finnick to Beetee who was sitting with a sponsor package in front of him. Inside contained small rolls of bread. Finnick's eyes lit up. Finally, they had some information about when the rescue would occur. He heard Johanna mention the rolls were from her district. He listened as Beetee counted out 24 rolls. The day and time was set. They would come tomorrow at midnight. He still didn't know what the plan was concerning Katniss and Gale. They were supposed to be the main part of the rescue mission. Now they were gone. Hopefully they could find them in time. Katniss was integral to the next part of the plan. They need the Girl on Fire, their Mockingjay, and they needed her alive.

* * *

**The rescue time has been set meaning the time in the Arena is almost up! Do you think they will find Gale and Katniss in time? Will their plan to escape work? Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out. Don't forget to review ;)**


	25. The Shocker

**I can't believe the story is almost over! Hope you enjoy this one :)**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 25

When Katniss woke, early the next morning, the first thing she did was check Gale's wound. It was totally healed. Finally, they seemed to have caught a break. She shook Gale awake so he could see. He was so happy that he took her in his arms and kissed her. They sat by the tree and ate breakfast as the celebrated their small victory. They were so happy thinking about how they were both alive that they forgot about the time. Katniss could hear a chorus of growls coming from behind them. Fear spread through as she realized what it was.

"Gale, mutts!" she said with panic. They gathered their things and ran in the opposite direction, weaving between the trees of dense jungle. She could hear them gaining of them. She quickly looked back to see how much distance they had between them. She guessed it was around 100 feet.

"Katniss this way!" Gale said taking her hand and leading her in a wide zig zag pattern. She hoped whatever he was doing would work. Suddenly they heard the mutts let out a cry. Katniss turned around to see the cause of it. There were 5 mutts standing in a row glaring at them.

"Why aren't they following us?" Gale asked as he joined her

"We must be in another section. They can't cross over." she said. They walked until the mutts were no longer in sight, and then sat down to rest. Katniss didn't even know where they were in the arena. Forty minutes later, it was clear. They were in the 9 o'clock section. Darkness surrounded them. Katniss couldn't even see her hand when she held it right in front of her.

"Gale." Katniss said as she clutched onto him. She hated the dark. It reminded of her of her father in the dark coalmines. She also felt uneasy that the Gamemakers could be sending them any sort of danger without the realizing it.

"Shh, Katniss. It's going to be ok." he said trying to comfort her.

"What's going to happen to us?"

"I don't know but we just need to get through the next hour. I know you can do this." he said. She heard a crunching sound, which caused her to jump. "Don't worry Katniss, that was just me."

"I need you to help me take my mind off this."

"Close your eyes." he said.

"Gale, what good is that going to do? I can't see anything anyways."

"Just do it." he instructed her. She did as he said. She felt him leaned closer to her until she could feel his warm breath against her ear. "Katniss, do you remember that time we fell asleep in the woods and we woke up to complete darkness?"

"Yeah, it was a new moon. We couldn't see anything. Just like this."

"Yes, just like this. And you were just as scared back then as you were now." he said with a little laugh.

"I didn't know how we were going to make it back. I knew my mother was worrying about me. I was only 14."

"I know. I didn't really mind though. It gave me an excuse to be close to you." he murmured.

"You liked me back then?" she said with surprise.

"Yes. That night made me realize that I wanted you even more." he whispered to her.

"Well you have me now." she whispered back.

"I know." he said pulling her closer to him. She then felt him bring his lips to hers. The darkness only seemed heighted her senses. Katniss felt Gale slide her shorts and underwear towards the ground. She quickly stopped him.

"Gale we're in the Arena."

"Yes and it's dark." he reminded her.

"But the cameras. What if they have night vision." she said. In the previous Games, she remembered that it didn't matter how dark it was. The camera could still record images in the dark.

"Let's pretend they aren't there." he suggested.

"What about our families. What if they are watching."

"Katniss, it's 6 in the morning back in District 12. They are probably still asleep."

"Ok." she said.

"Ok?" he questioned back, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I'll do it." she said with a smile before pressing her lips against his.

* * *

(Peeta POV)

The past couple days had been busy for Peeta. He had so much work to do that he barely had time to watch the Games live. Instead, he had to rely on the rebroadcasts each evening. Every night, after dinner, he made his way to the living room and clicked on the television to check on the status of the girl he loved. Last time he checked, she was still alive and well, although the same could not be said for Gale. He had taken a sword to the stomach by one of the Career tributes. At least Haymitch sent the medicine. Gale needed to get better to protect Katniss to make sure she made it home. Her _and_ her baby.

Peeta had been shocked to find out that detail during Gale's interview, and the fact that they were married too. They must have had the toasting when they were out in the woods. The camera cut from a pair of Careers to Katniss and Gale. Within a few seconds, the mutts were chasing them. Peeta's whole body tensed up as he watched them run through the jungle. He hoped they could run fast enough. At least Gale was healed. Peeta wouldn't have to worry about him slowing her down. They made their way to another section of the arena. Peeta let out a sigh of relief. He then listened to the announcer say that they were in the 9 o'clock section of the arena.

"Get out of there." he muttered. He didn't her to be in harm's way. When the section was activated, the screen went dark before the cameras switched to the night vision setting. Everything had an eerie green tint to it.

He watched as Gale tried to keep her calm, whispering into her ear. It seemed to have worked. Then, he saw him kiss her. Peeta looked away from the screen. He couldn't bear to watch the girl he loved with someone else. When he heard her speaking, he looked back to the television. Things didn't get better from there. He watched as the couple stripped each other of their clothing and pressed their naked bodies against each other. They kissed each other for a minute before Gale picked her up and lowered her to the jungle floor. He looked down, unable to watch. He could still hear her as she softly moaned as he entered her followed by her rapid breaths and the sound of their kisses.

He didn't now why this shocked him so much. It wasn't any secret that they had had sex. She was pregnant. They had to have done it before. It was still something he didn't think about. He looked up at the screen again, studying the scene in front of him. He had always hoped that one day, he would have been the one that would be with her. He eyes glazed over as he thought about his time with her. He had been so happy, and he was sure she had been happy with him too. He was broken from his thoughts when he heard the sound of the television click off. Fen was standing besides him.

"Let's go out back." he said. He helped Peeta off the couch and they went outside, where Carac was waiting for them. The three of them sat in a circle on the grass of their dark backyard.

"Here, drink this." Carac said, handing him a bottle of white liquor.

"Where'd you get this?" he asked.

"Haymitch gave it to me before he left. Thought you might need this while she was gone." Carac told him. Peeta took the bottle and took a long swig. He felt the alcohol burn his throat.

"How did you know?" Peeta asked. They must have known what had happened earlier in the arena.

"We were watching earlier while you were making deliveries."

"Why would they even show that? Are you even allowed to show that on TV?" Peeta asked still confused. He had never seen any sex scenes in the Games before. There had also never been a couple in the Arena, though.

"They can do whatever they want. Plus, I'm sure the Capitol citizens are loving it." Carac said rolling his eyes. Peeta took another long chug before passing the bottle to Carac, who also took a long swig.

"I had thought, maybe if she came back, that I could be with her." he said quietly.

"Peeta, she's pregnant with another guy's child. You don't want to mess around with that." Carac sputtered.

"I know. I've thought about that, and I'd be ok with that."

He looked at his brothers who were both giving him cynical looks. They didn't believe him.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway. She'll never want me again." he said as he took the bottle from Fen and chugged until Fen ripped it out of his hands. He had drank a lot of the bottle and the effects were starting to kick in.

"She might." Carac said.

"You're just saying that to be nice."

"No I'm serious. You saw the way she looked at the bread. She was thinking of you." Carac said.

"Not in that way. Even if she did, I know I'll always be her back up. Gale Hawthorne will always come first."

"Come, on. We're taking you out tonight." Carac said, helping his brother up.

"Where are we going?" Peeta asked him.

"The Underground." Carac said tucking the flat liquor bottle in the waistband in the back of his pants. Peeta didn't argue with him about it. It might actually do him so good to get away from his house and the Games. The three brothers made their way to the edge of the Seam to an abandoned mine shaft. They climbed down a ladder in a small hole in the ground. Peeta had always heard about this place but it was his first time visiting. The Underground was a place that mainly Seam kids hung out in private. It was a place where they could be free to do whatever they pleased—drink, dance, even have sex. He often heard classmates talk about their weekend escapades through the gossiping at school.

He walked down the lantern lit hallway that led to a large, cave-like space with tunnels jutting off of it. He saw teenagers scattered through the space. Some were sitting and talking; others were dancing. He also saw a few couples wandering off into the dimly lit tunnels. He knew what they were up to. In the course of taking in the scene, he had seemed to have lost his brothers. They must have found their friends. He pivoted around, turning his head, trying to look for them. The fact that he was inebriated didn't help.

"You look like you're lost." purred a voice from behind him. He turned around to find Edesa Ferndale. He recognized her from his classes in school. He always enjoyed Edesa's company, even though they were just acquaintances. Most people liked her and it wasn't hard to see why. She was just as nice as she was beautiful, as well as smart and funny.

"I am." he admitted with a light laugh.

"What brings you here anyway, Peeta Mellark?" she asked curiously.

"My brothers brought me here. They said I need to get out more." he said shaking his head.

"Maybe they're right. I never seem to see you around."

"I've been busy. I haven't had a lot of time to have fun." he said.

"Well you've come to the right place." she said smiling sweetly at him. "You know what, we should dance." Peeta looked to the dance floor. It definitely wasn't the kind of dancing he was used to. He watched the couples grinded against each other, grasping onto their partner. It was what his mother would call "vulgar". He had never danced like that before.

"I'm don't know. I'm not really a good dancer." he said, trying to politely decline.

"Oh, I don't believe that." she said.

"Edesa, I'm not being modest. I really don't know how to dance." he tried to reason with her.

"Dance with her." Carac said as he appeared from nowhere, pushing him toward Edesa. He knew what Carac was up to. He was trying to get him to stop thinking about Katniss. It was a slightly flawed plan. It didn't help that Edesa resembled Katniss with her dark brown hair, tan skin, and Seam gray eyes. However, she wore her hair down instead of the braid that Katniss usually wore. As he was thinking this, Edesa led him by the hand to the middle of the dance floor. Even with the people surrounding them, he could still see his brothers spying on him. This was going to be embarrassing.

"Edesa, I've never danced before; not with girl anyway."

"Well you've got to learn sometime." she said with a wink. He was relieved she didn't just start grinding up against him. He watched as her body moved fluidly with the music, twirling and dancing around. Peeta did the best he could with the little dance knowledge he had.

"You need to feel the music." she said placing her hands on his hips, guiding them to the rhythm. "See like that. Good." He wasn't sure if she really meant it or if she was just giving him encouragement. She directed his hands to her waist before wrapping hers around his neck. She looked intensely in his eyes as her lips curled upward. '_She has a seductiveness about her, in a sweet way, if that makes any sense'_ he thought to himself_._ To be honest, he was drunk by now and he was sure she was too. He felt something stir inside of him as she closed the space between their bodies and danced close to him. It was something he hadn't experienced in a long time. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She slowly started grinding against him to the rhythm of the song. He tried to calm himself, not wanting himself to get too excited. He wasn't sure what she'd do. Although, he thought that this was the whole point of dancing this way. It was a way to express those desires they held internally.

He matched her movements has he rubbed himself again her, moving to pace of the music. He watched as she dipped herself backwards. A surge ran through him as she slowly led her hands down his chest. She rose to meet him, burying her face into the side of his neck. Peeta closed his eyes, letting the music take over. He had never moved in his way before. He didn't even know dancing could be this sexual. Not that he knew anything about that either. He still hadn't managed to get through that rite of passage yet. He'd always been too caught up in waiting for Katniss to notice him, waiting for the right moment to talk to her, to get to know her, to be with her. He was tired of waiting. He wouldn't wait for her anymore.

"You're really good at this." he whispered into Edesa's ear.

"You're not so bad yourself. Are you sure you've never done this before?" she said pulling herself back from him so she could see him.

"Never."

"You must be a natural." she said with a playful smile.

"Well I'm not as good as these other guys. Maybe you could teach me some moves." he said with a smile. Edesa told him to stay where he was before she ran off to the front of the room. The music changed to something more upbeat and she quickly returned to him. She spent the next couple hours teaching him everything she knew. By the end, Peeta actually felt like he had some sense of what he was doing. He still stepped on her feet a few times but it was a vast improvement from the beginning.

"I think I've tortured you enough for tonight." she said to him as she stopped both of them from moving.

"No I enjoyed it." he said.

"Maybe we could go somewhere a little more private…to talk." she said.

"Ok." Peeta said. He let her lead him down one of the tunnels, passing couples that were doing a variety of things, until they reached the end. Only a small lamp on the wall illuminated the space. They sat close to each other on the ground, leaning against the wall. He couldn't help but think about how beautiful she looked in the dim light. He wanted to do more than just talk with her. He placed his hand behind her neck as he brought himself closer to her. Her lips felt so soft against his as he gave her a gentle kiss. He pulled away to gauge her reaction. As their lips parted, he saw her linger close him. He smiled. She must have wanted to continue. He didn't make her wait any long as his lips found hers again. The kissing grew deeper and he felt her body press against his as she straddled him. His heartbeat quickly escalated along with his breathing. He had never been this close to anyone before. She slowly pushed him away parting from him. He watched her look down and smiled.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Oh, it's nothing." she said shyly.

"You can tell me." he told her. He saw her hesitate. "Really, whatever it is, it's fine."

"It's just that I never thought this would happen. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I've had a crush on you for a while now." He was shocked to hear this. He didn't think that any girl had feelings for him. Things did make sense now. That's probably why he caught her looking at him in the hallways and why she would often make small talk with him in class.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked her.

"It's not like anything would have ever happened anyway." she said.

"It's happening now." Peeta told her, trying to remain optimistic.

"Peeta, even though we are from the same District, we are from two different worlds. Even if something were to happen between us, it could never last." she told him. It was true. People from the Seam and the Merchant class did stay within their social castes. The two groups would mingle with each other but each person tended to stay with "their own kind".

At least they all got along peacefully. It hadn't always been like that. He remembered learning about that in school. A hundred and fifty years ago, District 12 was a segregated place. There was separate everything for people who lived in the Seam and people who lived in town, down to which water fountain could be used. Things often became violent if either class crossed the line. It was mostly the Merchant class that wanted those laws though. They didn't think that people from the Seam were their equals. Peeta could never understand how human beings could treat one another that way.

"Things are different now. It's not like it used to be."

"Oh really Peeta. How many of your friends at school are from the Seam?" she asked skeptically.

"None." he admitted shamefully.

"It hasn't changed that much."

"I know, but it has changed enough." he said caressing her cheek. She looked at him and gave a small smile. He pulled her closer to him and resumed their earlier activity. This time, he let his hands explore her body before finally resting one hand around her waist and the other on her breast. It was one of many on his list of things he had never done before. He seemed to have been mentally checking them off as the night wore on. He felt her take his hand away from her, leading him to a temporary disappointment until he felt her guiding his hand under her shirt. He smiled though his kisses when his hand made contact with her again. He pushed away the fabric of her bra and gently massaged her breast. He could feel her nipple harden with his touch as he brushed his thumb across it. She elicited a light moan as he moved her nipple in a circular motion. He wondered what else he could do get her to react in that way again. He lowered his hand from under her shirt and placed his hand on her butt. He suddenly pulled her forward until she was against him. This drew pleasure for him as well as he found himself moaning alongside her. He felt her trust into him a few times before he heard footsteps.

"Time to go." his brother called.

"Right now?" he said.

"Yeah they're closing up the entrance. Unless you want to be trapped in here." Carac said raising an eyebrow.

"No, we're good." Peeta said. Before Carac left, he gave Peeta a discrete thumbs-up. "Sorry about my brother. He always seems to pick the worst moments."

"It's ok. It's getting late anyway." she said. Edesa climbed off of him before standing up. Peeta stood as quickly as he could and placed his hands in his pockets to try to hide his erection. For some reason, he felt really embarrassed about it even though she had to know about it. At least she didn't acknowledge it. They slowly made their way to the entrance of the mineshaft. By the time he had reached the ladder, he had gotten himself under control.

"Did you come here with anyone?" Peeta asked.

"I came with some friends, but I think they left without me." she said as she looked around the small crowd.

"Then I'll walk you home." he said taking her hand.

"Thanks." she replied with a smile. They made their way down the main path of the Seam. It was pretty much deserted except for a few random teens walking home. They walked quietly until Edesa broke the silence.

"So what did you think about tonight?" she asked.

"I'm glad I went out tonight. I had a lot of fun." he said as he looked over at her.

"Me too."

"So when exactly did you start having a crush on me?" he asked with curiosity.

"Since the beginning of high school." she said blushing.

"That long?" he said with shocked. She nodded her head. "But you've had boyfriends."

"Well I couldn't wait around for forever."

"I'm sorry…if I ever hurt you. I know how it can feel, waiting around for someone to notice you."

"No, it's fine." she said brushing it off.

"Why me though? You're the most beautiful girl in school. You could have any guy you wanted."

"Obviously not any guy. I couldn't have you." she teased.

"But seriously, why me?" he said, still waiting for an answer.

"Because you're the best." she said with a shy smile. "Lot of girls like you Peeta. You do know that, right?" He shook his head. He honestly didn't know. He'd always been too distracted to notice.

"Well they do." she said. The silence returned for the rest of their walk. Peeta was shocked to find that she lived two doors down from the Everdeens. Peeta couldn't help but look over at the empty house.

"She'll be ok, Peeta." Edesa said caressing his cheek. By now, most people in District 12 knew about his friendship with Katniss. They had seen them hanging out and training together.

"I just hope she makes it back." he said with worry.

"She will. Gale will make sure she does…just like last time." she told him. He nodded his head, even though he didn't completely agree with that statement. He didn't want to talk about this anymore.

"Thanks for tonight. I really needed that." he told her.

"I'm glad I could help." she said kindheartedly.

"Maybe we could hang out again, tomorrow. If you want to, that is." he said.

"I'd like that." she beamed. He leaned forwards, kissing her one more time.

"I'll meet you here tomorrow after I get off work." he said.

"Sounds good." she said. He watched her creep silently into her house before walking back to town. He was surprised at the change of events that occurred that night. He had gotten though a whole night without thinking about Katniss. As he walked, he felt optimistic. Maybe Edesa could be just the girl to help him move on, and strangely enough, he didn't have a problem with that.

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**What did you think of Peeta's POV? I wanted to put this in to show that Peeta would eventually move on from Katniss. I don't normally like writing new characters into FanFiction but I didn't want him with Delly or Madge. Let me know what you think about Peeta and his new love interest.**

**Sorry there wasn't much Galeniss in this chapter...next chapter will make up for that. **

**Also, I wanted to let you know that I plan on writing a sequel that follows the storyline of Mockingjay (with some modifications, of course). I'm still thinking about what to do with Gale and the whole hijacking thing. Any ideas/suggestions?**

**P.S. Thanks to everyone who regularly reviews. I love hearing from all of you :) I also enjoy reviews from people who read my stories that I have never heard from ;)**


	26. The Breakout

**It's the last day of the Quarter Quell! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 26

The nine o'clock section had been illuminated for a while now but Katniss still laid naked in Gale's arms. She noticed that the heat reflecting blanket covered them now. Gale must have done that after she had fallen asleep. She turned her body to face him and found him sleeping peacefully. She placed her hand on the back of his neck, stroking it gently. Gale's eyes remained closed but she saw a smile spread on his face. She felt his arm wrap tighter around her waist, pulling her even closer to him.

"Wake up sleepyhead." she said gently.

"I am awake." he said with his eyes still closed.

"It's time to get up."

"What time is it?" Gale asked. Katniss looked at the sun's position in the sky.

"Probably around 3."

"I slept that long? You really must have worn me out." he said playfully before he drew her closer for a kiss. As they continued, she felt him roll her over to her back as he hovered over her. He moved his mouth to her neck, planting a trail of kisses to her collarbone.

"Again?" she said raising her eyebrow.

"I can't help myself." he said, he voice full of desire. She was about to protest but she realized she didn't have much time left with him. Based her predictions, the Games would be ending soon. She had two days tops with him and that is if something didn't happen to her first. She reached her hand under the blanket to see if he was ready for her. She took his already hard shaft and gave it a few strokes. Gale moaned in response. She then opened her legs and guided him inside her. She gasped for breath as he connected completely with her. She caught his gaze as they laid their motionless. He gave her short, soft kiss before he began to grind into her. She felt more aware now then she had been the first time. In the dark, she was so worried and afraid that everything was a whirlwind around her. Now she could feel the moist soil beneath her body, and the humidity in the air around them. It wasn't the most comfortable place to be having sex.

"What are you thinking?" Gale said as he stopped his movements.

"I'm thinking about how gross I feel." she said scrunching up her face. "It's so hot and dirty."

"I thought that how you liked it." he whispered in her ear.

"Very funny." she said with a smirk. She guessed she had set him up for that.

"So you don't want to?" he asked.

"No, I do, just not here." she said bothered. He rolled them around so that she on top of him. She thought he was done so she was surprised when he sat up. He told her to hold unto her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, unsure of what was next. He then somehow managed to stand up.

"Gale what are you doing?" she asked. He smiled as he carried her and rested her back against the smooth bark of a nearby tree. Once he had her pinned to its trunk, she relaxed the grip of her legs around him. He resumed his thrusting, sending a new wave of pleasure running though her. With each motion, she felt him slightly withdraw from her before plunging deep inside her. She closed her eyes as she felt her back slide up and down the trunk of the tree and the friction between her thighs. She heard Gale's moans mix with hers, although his were much louder.

"Shh, not so loud." she warned him. He nodded before burying his head into her neck as he moved his lips up and down, sucking on her delicate skin. Katniss let out a loud moan in response of the feelings she was having.

"Shh, not so loud." he said mimicking her. She guessed neither of them could help themselves, now that they were so close to the edge. She could feel his movements quicken causing her to come shortly after. She felt Gale's lips press to hers, letting out a prolonged moan as he came as well. They looked wildly in each other eyes as he held her against the tree.

"I'm going to miss this." Gale said stroking her face.

"Me too."

"Here, why don't we get you cleaned up." he said as he carefully put her down on the ground. He walked over to her quiver to retrieve the spile. He made a hole higher up the tree and stuck the spile into it, creating a shower. The warm water cascaded down their bodies as they helped wipe the dirt off of each other. When they were finished, they walked over to their clothes and dressed.

The spent the rest of the day spending time with each other, talking and hunting. They didn't finding anything yet again during their hunt. Katniss was convinced that the Gamemakers left animals, apart from the mutts, out of the Games this year because they knew about his and her hunting skills. That night, the sky revealed two more dead Victors, Wiress and Brutus. Brutus probably killed her, but they wondered how he had died. He was a strong competitor in the Games. Maybe Finnick and Johanna took care of him after he murdered Wiress. The remaining Victors appeared in the sky. It was down to Beetee, Finnick, Johanna, Gale and her. She was worried about what would happen if she ran into Finnick and Johanna. They would try to take Gale and her out for sure. That night they followed their usual routine. They waited in the 3 o'clock section until midnight and then went to the 10 o'clock section to sleep.

The next morning, they woke up, packed their things and moved to a safe section. As they sat underneath a tree, Katniss could hear her stomach growling loudly. She realized she hadn't eaten a speck of food in the past two days. The rumbling must have been loud enough for the cameras to pick up because a minute later Haymitch sent them a package. It was another loaf of bread from District 12. Gale looked begrudgingly at her as she forced him to eat the bread. She wasn't about to let him starve because of some stupid grudge against Peeta Mellark.

That afternoon, they alternated between talking, hunting, kissing, having sex, and napping. It was quite enjoyable actually. It almost felt like they were back in the woods in District 12. In fact, for most of the day Katniss forgot there were even other Victors hunting them down. If this was their last day, she was glad she got to spend it like that.

That night, instead on staying in the 3 o'clock section until midnight, they went to the 1 o'clock section instead. They knew that Finnick's team would be on the beach part of that section and they didn't want to take the chance of running into them. Once midnight struck they could go to the other side of the arena. As soon as 11 o'clock came, she heard the loud clicking of insects coming from that part of the arena. She was glad she hadn't experienced that part. She hated bugs. As they waited, Katniss grew bored. She picked up a stick and started drawing in the dirt. Gale came over to see what she was doing.

"Katniss Hawthorne?" he questioned her. That is what she had written.

"I just wanted to see how it looked…in writing."

"I think it looks perfect." he said with a smile before giving her a brief kiss.

"Don't stop." she told him. She welcomed his kisses at the moment. It would be a nice way to pass the time. Gale reconnected with her, kissing her with more fervor this time. As he kissed her, she sensed they weren't alone. Maybe it was from all her years of hunting and knowing her surrounding at all times. She gently pushed him away and whispered in his ear.

"I don't think we're alone." she whispered. He slowly looked around the area. She wasn't sure if he could sense something as well. Suddenly, she saw Finnick and Johanna rush towards them. They quickly sprung to their feet and ran in the opposite direction.

"Come back. We won't hurt you." Johanna shouted. Like she would ever believe that. She knew that Johanna had no intention of keeping them safe. Not after what they tried with Finnick.

"Katniss, we should split up."

"No." she said. She didn't want to be separated from him.

"I think it might help. It might throw them off track since it's not something they'd think we'd do." he said. Maybe he had a point.

"Ok." she said.

"I'll meet you in the 10 o'clock section." he said. He grabbed her hand and stopped her from running, long enough to give her one last kiss. They then ran off in separate directions. Katniss looked behind her as she saw Johanna following her. Finnick had chased Gale. Katniss ran into the 12 o'clock section. Maybe she could get to the 11 o'clock section before the lightning started. She looked straight ahead as she sprinted through the forest. When she looked back to see where Johanna was, she tripped over a log. At least that's what she thought it was until she heard a groan. She looked over to see Beetee lying on the ground, his arm bleeding profusely. Johanna rushed over her and put her foot on Katniss' chest, preventing her from standing.

"I was starting to think we'd never find you." she said with a wicked grin. "You've caused a lot of trouble, running away like that."

"I know what you were doing. You were planning on killing us. You were just waiting for the right time." Katniss said as she struggled to break free. Johanna pressed down harder on her chest. Then she straddled Katniss to make sure she wouldn't get away.

"Oh is that what you think. We did have a plan for you. We still do. It's just changed a little since what you did to Finnick."

"It's not like I wanted to hurt him." Katniss shouted at her.

"But you did. All to take care of that precious husband of yours. Don't worry, we plan on taking care of him too." she said with a smirk.

"Leave him alone!" Katniss begged.

"Maybe I will. Or maybe I'll keep him around for a little longer. He is nice to look at." Katniss trashed around, trying to do something to inflict pain on Johanna. Katniss felt Johanna's shoes press again her arm so hard that it felt like she was cutting off her circulation. She use her other hand to hold her left arm to the ground. Johanna pulled out a knife from the back of her shorts and dug it into Katniss' arm. Katniss shrieked in pain as Johanna twisted the knife, digging deeper into her skin.

"Stop, please stop." Katniss begged her. She didn't listen. Johanna kept digging until she was interrupted.

"Johanna, I can't find him." Finnick said running up to her. He didn't even looked alarmed at what was happening to her. This must have been the new part of the plan; to let her bleed out slowly until she died. Johanna got off of her.

"If we hurry, we might still be able to catch him." she said.

The pair left her, bleeding out next to Beetee. He looked worse off then her. He was really pale and barely conscious. Lying next to him, Katniss saw a bow and one arrow. It must have been from the extra set they left when they ran away. She reached for it, thinking that she could kill Johanna when she returned. Then Gale or Finnick could win. When she picked up the arrow, she saw a thin wire attached to it. She tried to break it off but it wouldn't work. She guessed it didn't matter anyway. She felt Beetee clutch her arm. As she looked over at him, she saw him pointing to the sky. She heard him mutter, "Chink, midnight." before he passed out. Katniss was confused about this due to his broken words and the amount of blood she lost. She propped herself against Beetee's side as she looked for the chink in the armor that he talked about. She could faintly see it. She readied the bow and arrow as she waited for midnight to strike.

Shortly after, the clock sound started to gong. She raise her bow, aiming at the chink. On the twelfth gong, she released the arrow. She watched as the lighting struck the tree, igniting the wire. The sky in front of her exploded, lighting up the whole arena. She did it. She wasn't sure exactly what it was that she did, but she did it. She collapsed next to Beetee, waiting for something to happen. She wasn't sure what the Gamemakers would do to them. Out of nowhere the hovercraft appeared. As the claw of the plane was lifting her, she felt herself slowly slipping into unconsciousness. The last thing she thought about was Gale and how much she loved him.

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**So what did you think of the end of the Games? I decided to keep the breakout the same. **

**There is one more chapter in this story to wrap it up. I will post that tomorrow. Also don't forget to add me to your Author Alert so you won't miss the new story!**

**Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story!**


	27. District 13

**Last chapter of the story! : o**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

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Chapter 27

When Katniss regained consciousness, she didn't bother to open her eyes. She didn't want to know what horrors she faced now that she was in the hands of the Capitol. It was the second year in a row she ended the Games in a rebellious way. Surely, they wouldn't let her live. Judging from her other senses, she was laying in a bed, surrounded by a series of beeps and other sounds. She felt someone holding her hand. She wondered who it was. She knew it couldn't belong to Gale. They were probably holding him somewhere else, if he even made it out ok. She opened her eyes to find a concerned Peeta watching over her.

"Peeta, how did you get into the Capitol?" she asked with confusion. The room looked very similar to the room she woke up in last year, after she had won the Games.

"Katniss, we're not in the Capitol. We are in District 13." he told her. She wasn't sure if she heard him correct or if the drugs were making her misinterpret his words.

"We can't be. It was destroyed."

"Yes, and then it was rebuilt, underneath the destruction."

"So we got out? We're safe?" she asked.

"Yes, you're safe now."

"Prim!" she said as she jolted from her bed. She wanted to see her sister so badly.

"She's here, and so is your mother. Don't worry Katniss, everyone is safe." he told her. She breathed a sigh of relief as she eased herself back onto her pillow. She felt his hand drop from hers as he stood up from the stool he'd been sitting on.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"To get Haymitch. He wanted to be the one to explain everything to you." he said. As she waited, she looked around the room. Beetee was still unconscious, hooked up to 8 different machines. She could also sense someone next to her behind the curtain.

"Gale?" she called. There was no response. "Who's over there?"

"Finnick." she heard him mutter.

"Is Gale over there?" she asked him.

"I can't see anything, just curtains." he said. A few minutes later, Katniss saw Haymitch walking towards her. He sat on the chair Peeta had occupied.

"Welcome back, sweetheart." he said. She could help but have an uneasy feeling about that moment. He looked at her with pity, something she had never seen from him before. "I guess you want to know what happened."

"Where's Gale?" she asked.

"I'll get to that; first things first, though. Do you know how badly you almost screwed up the whole plan?" he asked her sternly. She rolled her eyes at him. The last thing she wanted was a lecture from her Mentor.

"I thought they were trying to kill us." she said defending herself.

"They were trying to get you out of there alive. You're the Mockingjay, remember?"

"What does that have anything to do with it?"

"Everything. We need you to lead the rebellion. That's why the alliance was set."

"So what, you're using me?" Katniss said as rage ran through her body. She was just a piece in his plans. She expected this from the Capitol, not from Haymitch.

"You are the symbol we need to start a revolution. It's not like we ever intended to use you. We originally thought the boy would be the one start it but after that Girl on Fire crap, we knew that you were the key."

"So why didn't you just tell us about the plan then? It would have been better if we had known."

"We knew the Capitol would come after the two of you after the force field was broken. We didn't want you having any information to give them." Katniss didn't like this. It felt like they couldn't trust her. She'd never tell the Capitol anything.

"But Johanna, she tried to kill me." Katniss said bringing up another point. Obviously the alliance wasn't that strong.

"No she was getting your tracker out. We couldn't have the Capitol track you down. We needed _you_ and we needed _you_ alive." Haymitch retorted. Katniss glared at him as the truth finally came out.

"You never intended to save him, did you? That promise was all a lie." she said in disgust.

"I did what I had to do. The boy was disposable. It's you we needed." he told her. Haymitch's words stung as they reached her. Disposable? How could he ever think like that? Gale was important.

"Where is Gale?" she asked more forcefully this time.

"The Capitol has him along with Johanna. We couldn't get to them in time." he said. Katniss felt her heart sink. How could they have left him? They knew what he meant to her. Katniss launched herself towards Haymitch, grabbing a needle off a nearby tray. She tried to jab the solution into him but he easily overpowered her in her weakened state. Katniss tried to break from his grip as she thrashed around the bed and she screamed hateful things to him. She felt a liquid traveling into her veins through the IV. It must have been to knock her out.

"I'll never forgive you." was the last thing she said to Haymitch before she fell into sleep.

* * *

Katniss wasn't sure how much time had passed when she finally woke from her drug-induced sleep. There were no windows or clocks in the room. She looked beside her to find Peeta sitting next to her, looking sadder than before. She hadn't noticed earlier that his one arm was wrapped in a bandage. What had happened to him?

"Hi Katniss." he said calmly.

"How did you get here?" she asked. She didn't get to ask him that before. It's not like you could just walk from District 12 to here.

"In this room?"

"No, in District 13."

"The hovercrafts from 13 came to get us. I went to your house to get your mother and Prim. It was close, but I saved them."

"Save them from what?" she asked confused.

"After you broke out of the arena, the Capitol sent in planes to firebomb District 12."

"What parts did they destroy?"

"Katniss." he said softly taking her hand. She knew the voice he was using on her and what it meant. He used it on her last year, when she wasting away. It was the voice he used when he knew she was too weak to deal with her reality.

"Peeta, can we just go home? I just want to be home..this isn't home."

"Katniss we can't go back home."

"Why not?" she asked before everything clicked. The firebombs, the coal dust. Coal burns. "It's gone?"

"Yes, Katniss, it's gone." he said firmly griping her hand. Katniss felt herself begin to choke on her tears. Everything in her life was being taken away from her courtesy of President Snow and the Capitol. Maybe this was it…a time for a revolution. It was in that moment that Katniss decided that she wouldn't go down without a fight. She would be the Mockingjay, and be the leading force to guide the rebels to Victory.

* * *

**What did you think of the last chapter? I really like the way Suzanne Collins ended Catching Fire so I decided to modify it a little to fit Katniss and Peeta. **

**Are there any predictions/things you'd like to see happen in the sequel? Let me know ;)**

**Also don't forget to Author Alert if you want to know when the sequel is published!**


	28. Part III

Hello everyone!

In case you didn't know, I have posted the first two chapters of the continuation of this story. The name of the story is Flight of the Mockingjay. Check it out and let me know what you think :)


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